Credit: X
American grandmaster Hans Niemann found himself in hot waters after his seamless win at the Tournament of Peace 2023 win. Niemann found himself entangled in unsubstantiated cheating allegations after his massive three-point lead over the 10-man field in Croatia’s Zagreb on Thursday. However, his sweet victory turned sour when he was accused of cheating.
Despite being unbeaten in the tournament, a tournament organiser reportedly told Aftenposten that while there was no proof that the American GM had cheated, there were ‘indications’. Grandmaster Susan Polgar shared a quote from the organiser who called Neimann’s performance ‘out of the world’ on her X.
Polgar’s tweet quoted the organiser as telling the newspaper “We have no concrete evidence that he is cheating. We have some indications, but we don’t know if anyone will report him.” Minutes later, Niemann's attorney issued a statement to Forbes Betting stating: “Despite the overwhelming proof of Hans’ extraordinary talents, there will always be haters. Our advice to them is simple: Get used to it. Hans is just getting started.”
Unbothered: Hans Niemann responds to cheating allegations
The 20-year-old American grandmaster took to X to share a post taking a dig at the organisers for accusing him of cheating. Niemann posted a picture of himself on his X (formerly Twitter) and said the game will speak for itself. He wrote, “Unbothered, unfazed, undaunted. Chess is speaking and will always speak for itself” Notably, this isn’t the first time the young star has been accused of cheating. Earlier, he was accused by the then-world champion Magnus Carlsen, which resulted in an online chess portal deleting his account.
