Hans Niemann suing for $160 million over bizarre chess cheating saga

The explosive chess cheating controversy involving Magnus Carlsen and American grandmaster Hans Niemann has taken a dramatic turn, with the latter set to launch $160 million legal action.

The bizarre saga has officially reached the American court system, with Niemann confirming that he is suing Carlsen and his company Play Magnus over the disturbing accusations.

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Carlsen, arguably the best chess player of all time, accused Niemann of cheating after his much lower-ranked opponent won their match at the Sinquerfield Cup on September 4.

Niemann was the lowest-ranked of the 10 players at the Sinquerfield Cup, but become the first player to beat Carlsen in more than two years.

The pair then faced off again days later, with Carlsen abruptly quitting the Julius Baer Generation Cup tournament in mysterious circumstances, after his opening move.

Niemann has sensationally been accused of using anal beads to cheat, with widespread reports that he used the wireless beads to get signals about where to move his pieces.

Niemann denies the allegations levelled against him and has decided to take legal action against Carlsen and his company, as well as internet chess giant Chess.com, Chess.com's chief chess officer Daniel Rensch and Chess.com's top streaming partner Hikaru Nakamura - who have all spoken out against the American.

In the lawsuit filed in federal court in Missouri - in which Niemann is seeking $US100 ($AUD160 million) in damages - the American cited claims of slander, libel, unlawful group boycott, tortious interference and civil conspiracy.

The legal drama is the culmination of two months of high drama between the two grandmasters that has rocked the chess world.

Carlsen's mysterious withdrawal from the Julius Baer Generation Cup sparked a chain reaction of events that Niemann argues are critical to his legal challenge.

Hikaru Nakamura (the world's best blitz player) claimed Carlsen's withdrawal was because he suspected Niemann had “probably cheated”.

Niemann later admitted that he had cheated in online games before, but never in an over-the-board contest - adding that he was now "clean".

Carlsen eventually accused Niemann of cheating outright and Chess.com released a report saying Niemann had likely cheated in more than 100 games on its platform.

Chess.com said it had “privately removed” Niemann’s account from its website, while the Global Championship in Toronto has since uninvited the American.

Throughout all of this, Niemann has denied cheating against Carlsen and says he has never done so in an over-the-board match (i.e. an in-person match with a physical board and pieces).

Carlsen has provided no evidence of Niemann's cheating, though he and Chess.com both noted Niemann has recently risen through the international rankings at an improbably rapid pace.

Hans Niemann denies cheating against Magnus Carlsen

Now Niemann has provided his own side of the story with his lawsuit, which paints a picture often bordering on hyperbole. Niemann claims a single loss, which snapped a 53-game unbeaten streak, enraged Carlsen to the point that he leveraged his business interests in an attempt to destroy the player who beat him.

That supposedly included Chess.com, which announced in August is was acquiring Carlsen's Play Magnus for UAS$83 million ($AUD132 million) , further establishing Chess.com as the internet's predominant chess website and Carlsen's standing in the game.

Niemann claims: "Carlsen, having solidified his position as the “King of Chess,” believes that when it comes to chess, he can do whatever he wants and get away with it.

The American also accused Carlsen of poor sportsmanship and was scathing in the way he described the Norwegian's reaction to the shock loss against him.

"Notorious for his inability to cope with defeat, Carlsen snapped. 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 by falsely accusing Niemann, without any evidence, of somehow cheating during their in-person game and demanding that the organisers of the Sinquefield Cup immediately disqualify Niemann from the tournament."

While Niemann claims everything Carlsen has alleged to have done was in response to the Sinquefield loss, Carlsen said in his statement he suspected Niemann to be cheating before the game and considered withdrawing from the event after Niemann was added to the field.

Due to the cheating allegations, Niemann claims to have suffered a number of financial repercussions due to Carlsen and Chess.com's alleged conspiracy - not to mention the damage to his reputation.

Those repercussions allegedly include the revocation of his invitation to the Chess.com Global Championship, the cancellation of a game against 17-year-old German grandmaster Vincent Keymer (currently ranked No. 39 in the world), losing an invite to the prestigious Tata Steel Chess Tournament and an inability to find employment as a chess teacher at a reputable school.

Carlsen's accusations have undoubtedly sullied Niemann's reputation, but the question is whether or not the accusations are accurate.

That will be the challenge of Niemann's lawsuit; proving to the court he is, in fact, not a chess cheat - assuming his suit reaches a courtroom in the first place.

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