All posts tagged: Niemann

When a fan asked Hans Niemann for an autograph on the first page of a Magnus Carlsen book | Chess News

When a fan asked Hans Niemann for an autograph on the first page of a Magnus Carlsen book | Chess News

Published by Webster

3 min readUpdated: Apr 6, 2026 03:49 PM IST Hans Niemann is busy signing autograph standing behind a long table, when the bevy of fans around him all break into clipped smiles and side-eyes. The venue is the playing hall of the Grenke Chess Festival where both Niemann and Magnus Carlsen, have been camped for the 5-day Freestyle event, alongside other big names Levon Aronian and Vincent Keymer, Nodirbek Abdusattarov and Dronavalli Harika. The left-hander Niemann who has been embroiled in a beef with Carlsen, is surrounded on all sides, when a young fan hands over a thick book for him to sign. On a signing spree, Niemann scribbles his signature on the book,as per a reel posted by chesscomindia – chess24india footage. The edit pauses, zooming in on Niemann showing his tight jaw as he returns the book. Those around him can’t help breaking into grins, as chess’ modern day beefs get related instantly. The book is a Carlsen book, with his face on the cover and the cheeky fan, saunters back blending into …

Hans Niemann, Fabiano Caruana & Vladimir Kramnik launch scathing attack on Chess.com

Hans Niemann, Fabiano Caruana & Vladimir Kramnik launch scathing attack on Chess.com

Published by Webster

Chess.com, the world’s largest online chess-playing platform, is facing a fresh wave of criticism, this time from some of the biggest names in the circuit over issues with points and online server disconnections during recent online high-stakes games. Former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik and US Grandmasters Fabiano Caruana and Hans Niemann criticised the platform Chess.com for technical glitches. During the Chess.com Open event (previously called the Chess.com Global Championship), Caruana complained of being unfairly treated and punished through no fault of his own. In the eighth round of the Swiss format 90-player qualifier, Caruana was disconnected even though he claimed his internet connection was fine. As a result of the disconnection, he was given a 0-point bye in round 8, which ultimately cost him his qualification spot. The Chess.com Open, as claimed by the organisers themselves, is one of the world’s largest open tournaments with a prize pool of $250,000 and offers three direct spots to the next Esports World Cup. Expressing his dissent against Chess.com, Caruana took to X and wrote, “The chesscom thing …

‘The truth is upon us’: Hans Niemann says after Netflix reveals premiere date for Carlsen cheating scandal documentary | Chess News

‘The truth is upon us’: Hans Niemann says after Netflix reveals premiere date for Carlsen cheating scandal documentary | Chess News

Published by Webster

3 min readFeb 25, 2026 08:17 PM IST The Magnus Carlsen vs Hans Niemann cheating scandal is rearing its head again. This time, in the form of a documentary. Netflix has revealed that after nearly two years of following both players in the middle of the controversy the documentary will be releasing on April 7, with a trailer coming out on March 10. The documentary on the cheating scandal that rocked the sport and created global headlines will be part of the “Untold” series. Called “Untold: Chess Mates” the documentary will focus on Niemann picking up the pieces after Carlsen’s high-profile allegations of cheating levelled against him at the 2022 Sinquefield Cup. Carlsen had withdrawn from the tournament after a defeat to Niemann and then later levelled allegations against the American grandmaster, which had led to a $100 million lawsuit against Carlsen and others. The documentary focuses on a rematch that Carlsen and Niemann have months after the allegations. Both Carlsen and Niemann have been interviewed for the documentary while the Netflix crew has followed …

Outsider to crowd-puller: How Hans Niemann, once accused of cheating by Magnus Carlsen, has retraced the steps to credibility | Chess News

Outsider to crowd-puller: How Hans Niemann, once accused of cheating by Magnus Carlsen, has retraced the steps to credibility | Chess News

Published by Webster

American Grandmaster Hans Niemann is one of the most polarising figures in chess. His persona, of a master of the oxygen-consuming headline who turns stubbornness into a shield, makes him easy to detest, equally tough to idolise, and almost impossible to ignore. He feels lost and confused when asked about his current standing in his career. “I’m at a point in my career where I’m honestly a bit lost. I feel like I’m just in a phase of confusion. Sometimes things go your way, sometimes they don’t,” Niemann tells The Indian Express. Much of that uncertainty comes from his inconsistent results in recent tournaments, especially in shorter time controls, where he has fluctuated from brilliant to average in a short span. Yet, he can take solace that the discourse around him centres on his play rather than his past. This return to normalcy shows how far he has come since the controversies that threatened to stall his career. The global firestorm of Magnus Carlsen’s cheating allegations once turned Niemann to an outsider. He was exposed …

Tata Steel Chess India Rapid and Blitz: Viswanathan Anand comes back, Praggnanandhaa stays in present, Niemann wants his past to be forgotten | Chess News

Tata Steel Chess India Rapid and Blitz: Viswanathan Anand comes back, Praggnanandhaa stays in present, Niemann wants his past to be forgotten | Chess News

Published by Webster

Rarely does a legend return to the board after stepping away from the professional circuit. Yet the flexibility of being a semi-retired player allows Viswanathan Anand to still choose an occasion to display his class. When the 2026 Tata Steel Chess India Rapid and Blitz opens on Wednesday at Kolkata’s Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium, the city’s chess-loving audience will welcome back its icon. After appearing in the first three editions as a player, and later as the event’s ambassador and promoter, Anand returns to compete following a six-year absence. Asked how it feels to be back, Anand found humour in the question. “Well… it was exhausting not playing,” he joked, before explaining how his return came about. “Last year, I mentioned to Aruna (his wife) that maybe next year I should take part. Luckily, Jeet (Banerjee – organiser of Tata Steel Chess) and I were doing an event in Mumbai in February (2024). We kind of bounced the idea then. I actually play some strong events every year. And here’s a fantastic, attractive event right here …

Magnus Carlsen dismantles Hans Niemann in 60 moves at World Rapid Championship in Doha

Magnus Carlsen dismantles Hans Niemann in 60 moves at World Rapid Championship in Doha

Published by Parlour News

18-time World Chess Champion across all formats, Magnus Carlsen is in line to win his 19th World title as he leads the 247-player field in Doha at the World Rapid and Blitz Championship 2025. On Sunday, he defeated American GM Hans Niemann, with whom he shares a controversial past. Heading into the 11th round of the Rapid portion, both Niemann and Carlsen were jointly leading the pack with 8 points from 10 rounds. Niemann was unbeaten in the competition with six wins and four draws until he faced Carlsen. The Norwegian, meanwhile, was handed his only loss by Russia’s Vladislav Artemiev in the seventh round on Saturday. Playing Whites, Carlsen ventured into the Italian game against Niemann. After the piece development in the opening, the first exchange took place on the 10th move when Carlsen chopped off Black’s knight with his dark-squared bishop. Carlsen was able to go a pawn up in the middle game and was playing with better accuracy than his opponent. With a double rook and queen endgame with an extra pawn, …

Chess underwater! Hans Niemann defeats Fabiano Caruana to win unique diving event in Cape Town

Chess underwater! Hans Niemann defeats Fabiano Caruana to win unique diving event in Cape Town

Published by Webster

American Grandmaster Hans Niemann became the Diving Chess Cape Town 2025 Champion on Thursday after defeating compatriot Fabiano Caruana in the final of a unique underwater chess event. The competition was held at the Silo Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa, alongside the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam finals. Uzbekistan’s newly minted FIDE World Cup winner, Javokhir Sindarov, secured third place by defeating Indian Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi. In this event, players make their moves on a small chess set placed 110 centimetres deep at the bottom of a swimming pool. After moving, a player surfaces to catch their breath, at which point their opponent must immediately dive to make the next move. From the pool, Niemann proudly showed his medal to the applause of local supporters, before later facing Diving Chess World Champion Michal Mazurkiewicz. Mazurkiewicz won a rook and pawn for a bishop after a blunder by Niemann as early as move two, but the American grandmaster ultimately outplayed his specialist opponent to win that game as well. The Diving Chess competition was the first …

‘Gukesh ran into my prep’: Arjun Erigaisi after winning game that briefly retraced controversial Carlsen vs Niemann clash from 2022 | Chess News

‘Gukesh ran into my prep’: Arjun Erigaisi after winning game that briefly retraced controversial Carlsen vs Niemann clash from 2022 | Chess News

Published by Webster

Gukesh Dommaraju shielded his eyes away from the rest of the prying world. The 18-year-old, who built his reputation on being utterly impassive as he blazed his way to the world champion’s throne, needed a brief moment to compose himself. Understandably so. He had, after all, lost his second successive game at the Norway Chess tournament on Tuesday, a defeat to compatriot Arjun Erigaisi coming right after the loss to world no 1 Magnus Carlsen the previous day. The end of the Gukesh vs Arjun game was observed closely by world no 1 Magnus Carlsen, who had drawn his own game against Hikaru Nakamura, then had taken up a spot near Gukesh’s seat to get the closest possible view of the complex game between the two Indians. Never mind that Carlsen still had the Armageddon decider against Nakamura to play soon, he spent nearly five minutes peering over Gukesh’s shoulder at the board before quickly dashing out of the playing hall to grab a sweater. Then, he was back at his vantage point, engrossed in …

Praggnanandhaa bests MVL in tiebreaks to win Chess Classic Romania as Niemann praises GCT playoff format

Praggnanandhaa bests MVL in tiebreaks to win Chess Classic Romania as Niemann praises GCT playoff format

Published by Webster

It took a herculean effort from Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja to win on-demand in their respective last classical round games to enforce a tiebreak with R. Praggnanandhaa, but the Indian showed tremendous resoluteness to eventually win the three-way tiebreaker. He beat MVL in the final blitz tiebreak to clinch the second leg of the Grand Chess Tour (GCT) — the Superbet Chess Classic Romania 2025 — on Friday night. Praggnanandhaa, who was leading by half a point over MVL and Firouzja, drew his last round game against the USA’s Levon Aronian, which allowed the French duo to catch up with him. The three-way tiebreak saw all three players pit against each other. The first two blitz matches — between Pragg and Firouzja and MVL and Firouzja — were drawn before the Indian got the better of MVL in the final blitz game. The tiebreak format, which is result-oriented with shorter time controls and Armageddon if necessary, was praised by American Grandmaster Hans Niemann. “GCT has a very creative Armageddon tiebreak format. An intriguing idea …

Hans Niemann claims ‘lie-detector’ test failed to prove over-the-board cheating

Hans Niemann claims ‘lie-detector’ test failed to prove over-the-board cheating

Published by Webster

American Grandmaster Hans Niemann claimed on Wednesday that he has undergone a lie detector “Polygraph” test, as challenged by Russian GM Daniil Dubov and “passed it on all fronts” as the test failed to prove any over-the-board (OTB) cheating done by him. Announcing on X, he wrote, “Polygraph finished, passed on all fronts. Have you ever cheated over the board? No Verdict: True. I think it’s time for a rematch with Dubov. I’ll be in Moscow again in 2 weeks!” Niemann also called for a rematch against Dubov and said “chess always speaks for itself.” Story continues below this ad In another post, he wrote, “Mental gymnastics of my detractors: “You refused the polygraph that proves everything” Then switching to “polygraphs are pseudoscience this proves nothing”. Some people will always twist everything to fit their perspective. The only constant is that the chess always speaks for itself.” What was the challenge? Niemann was supposed to undergo a lie-detecting polygraph test after losing an 18-game blitz match against Dubov. Niemann had challenged Dubov to a showdown …