Pique or cheat?

In the third round of the Sinquefield Cup in St Louis, Magnus Carlsen was beaten by 19-year old Hans Niemann, the lowest seeded player in the event. The result was surprising, particularly since Niemann played Black, but certainly not inconceivable. The next day, Carlsen announced his withdrawal from the tournament on Twitter, appending a short clip of José Mourinho saying: ‘If I speak I am in big trouble.’ It was widely taken to mean that Carlsen suspected foul play, but was wary of making a direct accusation.

So far, he has made no further statement, leaving pundits to fill in the gaps. But the patchwork of evidence remains threadbare. In the past couple of years Niemann’s surge up the world rankings has been noteworthy, but his progress remains in line with other ambitious and talented teenagers. The game itself (see below) presented no obvious clues, since Niemann’s play was not faultless, while Carlsen’s play looks uncharacteristically poor. Even if Niemann did have computer assistance, how did he evade the tournament security checks, which were even enhanced in later rounds? Some suspected that Carlsen’s withdrawal was a mere fit of pique.

The plot thickened when Niemann gave an impassioned interview, in which he confessed to having cheated while playing online at the ages of 12 and 16, while insisting that he had never cheated in over-the-board play. chess.com, the website where Niemann played, alleged that Niemann had downplayed both the amount and seriousness of his cheating. But no matter how thorough their anti-cheating measures are, chess.com cannot be considered impartial, following last month’s announcement that it will soon be joining forces with the Play Magnus group of companies.

Some were taken aback by Niemann’s brash manner and hand-waving analysis during post-game interviews, but a Marmite personality has never been an impediment to good chess. At least in the following position his judgment was very relatable, even though imperfect. In the diagram position, it was put to Niemann in the interview (based on computer analysis) that Carlsen’s 30 a4 was an important mistake, since 30 Bxc4 Rxc4 31 gxf5 was a stronger defence. He dismissed this possibility, arguing that after 31...Ra4, with b7-b5 to come, Black will soon have two connected passed pawns, even asserting that 99 per cent of grandmasters would judge Black’s position as winning. In fact, White has an obscure defence, typical of what a human might overlook. After 32 Rb8 b5 33 Rb6 Rxa3 34 Kd2 Black is strangely thwarted. Creeping the pawns forward (Ra4, b5-b4, a6-a5, Ra4-a3) is slow, and permits counterplay with Kd2-e3, h2-h4-h5 and f5-f6+.

Magnus Carlsen – Hans Moke Niemann

Sinquefield Cup, September 2022

1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 g3 O-O 5 Bg2 d5 6 a3 Bxc3+ 7 bxc3 dxc4 8 Nf3 c5 9 O-O cxd4 10 Qxd4 Nc6 11 Qxc4 e5 12 Bg5 h6 13 Rfd1 Be6 Against the Nimzo Indian defence (3...Bb4), Carlsen’s 4 g3 is a very rare choice. Niemann raised eyebrows by stating that he happened to have studied this variation on the morning of the game. Once again, it’s surprising, but not impossible. 14 Rxd8 Bxc4 15 Rxa8 Rxa8 16 Bxf6 gxf6 17 Kf1 Rd8 18 Ke1 Na5 19 Rd1 Rc8

20 Nd2 Be6 21 c4 Bxc4 22 Nxc4 Rxc4 23 Rd8+ Kg7 24 Bd5 Rc7 25 Ra8 a6

26 Rb8 f5 27 Re8 e4 28 g4 Rc5 29 Ba2 Nc4 (see diagram) 30 a4 Nd6 31 Re7 fxg4 32 Rd7 e3 33 fxe3 Ne4 34 Kf1 Rc1+ 35 Kg2 Rc2 36 Bxf7 Rxe2+ 37 Kg1 Re1+

38 Kg2 Re2+ 39 Kg1 Kf6 40 Bd5 Rd2 41 Rf7+ Kg6 42 Rd7 Ng5 43 Bf7+ Kf5

44 Rxd2 Nf3+ 45 Kg2 Nxd2 46 a5 Ke5 47 Kg3 Nf1+ 48 Kf2 Nxh2 49 e4 Kxe4

50 Be6 Kf4 51 Bc8 Nf3 52 Bxb7 Ne5 53 Bxa6 Nc6 54 Bb7 Nxa5 55 Bd5 h5

56 Bf7 h4 57 Bd5 Ke5 White resigns