After cheating allegations in chess: Twitch clip shows how thoroughly players are now searched before they are allowed on the board

The chess world has been in turmoil for several weeks. Hans Niemann, a 19-year-old grandmaster and twitch streamer, is in the eye of the storm – he has been suspected of cheating since a game against Magnus Carlsen. Now he has taken part in a US championship – under increased security precautions.

The situation in brief – Ever since Niemann surprisingly defeated reigning world champion Magnus Carlson a few weeks ago, there has been speculation that he cheated in the game. After his defeat, Carlson had expressed his first suspicions with a Twitter post. A short time later, the world champion withdrew from a tournament after the opponents met in an early round.

Niemann maintains his innocence in the matter, but admitted in an interview that he cheated in two online games as a teenager. In the meantime, media attention has ensured that Chess.com, one of the largest online chess platforms, has conducted an investigation into Niemann’s professional career. A 72-page report found irregularities in over 100 of Niemann’s games. Even the World Chess Federation FIDE announced an investigation into the incidents.

Tournament participation only under strict security measures

This will be done – The cheating scandal also left its mark on the organizers of the US Chess Championship 2022 in St. Louis. In order to prevent further controversy in the run-up to the tournament, security measures have been increased accordingly. The tournament directors in St. Louis wanted to ensure the integrity of the results.

In addition to metal detectors, which are common in such tournaments, devices for monitoring radio frequencies were used this time. The aim was to prevent the players from receiving instructions from outsiders in this way. As a further measure, an expert was on site to monitor the individual games.

You can see the whole security procedure in the linked Twitch clip. You can also see how Hans Niemann is checked. The security team is particularly thorough with the grand master: He is scanned from top to bottom and even has to turn around. However, from the look on his face, he does not like the measures very much.

Niemann counters critics

This is how the first match went – The organizers believe that Niemann deserves to take part in the tournament despite the allegations against him. Under the watchful eyes of the tournament organizers, the controversial professional was finally able to compete in his match. Niemann managed to defeat Christopher Yoo, just like Niemann a chess grandmaster. As in his match against Carlson, he played with black.

Asked about the allegations after the game, Niemann said his game spoke for him. The game won would show what a chess player he was and that he would not quit no matter what pressure he was under. When the interviewer wanted to ask him specifically about his last match, Niemann broke off the interview. “You can interpret it however you want. It was a beautiful game, I don’t need to describe it to you.”

Niemanns wants to let his performance speak for itself, but his behavior should raise further questions. So the last word on this matter has not yet been spoken.

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