Hans Niemann Files $100M Lawsuit Over Chess Cheating Allegations

The 19-year-old grandmaster is suing Chess.com, rival Magnus Carlsen and others.

Chess grandmaster Hans Niemann, who is at the center of a cheating scandal, has now filed a $100 million lawsuit against world champion Magnus Carlsen and others for defamation.

One of the defendants is Chess.com, which is the outlet that brought allegations of Niemann’s cheating history to light in October. The overview of Niemann’s playing history was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Niemann tweeted a link to his lawsuit Thursday, writing, “My lawsuit speaks for itself.” His lawsuit claims that the defendants imposed “devastating damages” against Niemann by “egregiously defaming him” and “unlawfully colluding” by barring him from the professional chess world.

The original report stated that the 19-year-old likely received illegal assistance in over 100 online games. The most recent occurrence was said to have been in 2020. The 72-page report also stated that Niemann admitted to the allegations in private and was banned from the online platform for a period of time. But it also described irregularities with his in-person chess matches, mentioning “many remarkable signals and unusual patterns in Hans’ path as a player.”

Niemann later admitted that he cheated in two different situations, when he was 12 and 16. Carlsen accused Niemann of cheating at a previous event, which Niemann won. However, Niemann continues to deny that he cheated while playing against Carlsen.

Chess.com’s investigation into Niemann’s cheating allegations did not find any cheating in his over-the-board matches, including the match against Carlsen, although the outlet did note that it usually discovers cheating only in online matches.

Niemann said in his lawsuit that Carlsen’s accusations came from the world champion’s not wanting his reputation to be impacted by the loss.

“Enraged that the young Niemann, fully 12 years his junior, dared to disrespect the ‘King of Chess,’ and fearful that the young prodigy would further blemish his multi-million dollar brand by beating him again Carlsen viciously and maliciously retaliated against Niemann,” the lawsuit read.