US$100 million chess fraud lawsuit against Magnus Carlsen dismissed

A U.S. judge on Tuesday dismissed the $100 million defamation lawsuit brought by U.S. chess grandmaster Hans Niemann against the likes of Magnus Carlsen in an alleged cheating scandal that has rocked the sport, court documents show.

U.S. District Court Judge Audrey Fleissig rejected Niemann’s claims that Norwegian Carlsen, online platform Chess.com, his chief chess officer Daniel Rensch and popular streamer Hikaru Nakamura “grossly defamed and unlawfully defamed him.” conspired to blacklist him from the profession to which he has devoted his life.” Niemann said in the lawsuit that the saga had caused him “devastating damage”.

Niemann also sued for libel and slander, which Fleissig dismissed without prejudice, meaning Niemann could file a new lawsuit based on those allegations. CNN has asked Niemann if he plans to do so, but has not heard back as of this writing.

Fleissig also dismissed the accusations of an antitrust violation with prejudice. This means that Niemann cannot bring any new allegations of antitrust violations against these defendants based on this evidence.

“We are pleased that the court rejected Hans Niemann’s attempt to recover an undeserved windfall in Missouri federal court, and that Niemann’s attempt to cool speech through strategic litigation in that forum failed Craig Reiser, attorney for Carlsen, said in a statement. to CNN.

“We are very happy with the court‘s order to dismiss Hans Niemann’s claims. Our customers are happy that this saga is coming to an end and are happy that all parties can now focus on growing the game of chess,” said Nima H. ​​Mohebbi and Jamie Wine, attorneys who represent Chess.com, Play Magnus and Rensch represent. in a statement to CNN.

CNN has reached out to Niemann to give him a chance to comment.

Niemann’s lawsuit, filed in October last year, came after an alleged fraud scandal that sent shockwaves through the sport.

According to the lawsuit, the scandal began in September 2022, when world No. 1 Carlsen accused Niemann of cheating at the $350,000 Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis, Missouri.

The lawsuit alleges that Carlsen pulled out of the tournament after losing to Niemann, later tweeting a video from football manager Jose Mourinho saying: “I prefer not to talk. If I speak I’m in big trouble .”

About–the–board chess is played face-to-face rather than online. Carlsen has not provided details of what he claims Niemann did during their September 2022 match.

In an interview with the St. Louis Chess Club shortly afterwards, Niemann said he had never cheated before–the–plate games.

“I cheated at random games on Chess.com. I was confronted. I confessed. And this is the biggest mistake of my life,” Niemann said. And I am deeply ashamed. I’m telling the world because I don’t want any misrepresentation and I don’t want rumours. I’ve never cheated in an over the board game. And except when I was 12 years old, I’ve never cheated in a prize money tournament.”

However, a 72-page report from Chess.com – one of the sport’s most popular websites – later claimed that Niemann was “probably cheated” in over 100 online matches between July 2015 and August 2020, “including several involving prize money events”.

The report alleges that in 2020 Niemann privately confessed to cheating against the website’s chief chess officer, which led to the American being temporarily banned from the platform.

Niemann’s lawsuit described this claim as “false” and stated that he had “not previously been banned twice on Chess.com for cheating”.

According to the report, Chess.com closed Niemann’s account in September 2022, citing his previous admission of cheating, suspicions about his recent play, and concerns about the steep, inconsistent rise in his rank. The American has risen to 36th in the world at the time of writing.

“While we have no doubt that Hans is a talented player, we find that his results are statistically extraordinary,” the report said.

Niemann has previously publicly admitted to cheating in online matches at the ages of 12 and 16, but the investigation claimed he had cheated more recently. Niemann has denied these allegations.

According to Chess.com, Niemann initially filed the lawsuit in October before making two amendments to the charges over the following months.

In his second amendment, Niemann alleged that Carlsen paid a friend $328 (€300) to shout “Cheater Hans” from the stands during the closing ceremony of a tournament. Carlsen has not commented on this claim.

“We are pleased with this ruling,” Chess.com’s CEO Erik Allebest and Rensch said in their company’s press release. “Obviously we thought it was a meritless lawsuit that cost a lot of time and money, but we have a stewardship to protect the game.

“We appreciate our amazing legal team for their dedication and commitment to our cause. Where do we go from here? We remain 100 percent focused on what we have always done: growing the game and serving the community.”

Chess.com has millions of users and hosts more than 10 million chess games per day, according to its owners. To detect suspected cheating, the website uses software that flags suspicious moves by comparing a player’s moves to those of a chess engine. According to the company’s report on Niemann’s alleged behavior, less than 0.14 percent of players ever cheat on the site.