Hans Niemann Controverysy

U.S. Grandmaster Hans Niemann ‘Likely Cheated’ above 100 Times, As per Chess.com probe.

German chess grandmaster Hans Niemann has been banned from the Chess.com Global Championship for serious concerns about rampant cheating, tournament director Klaus Rensch informed.

Hans Moke Niemann first entered the Top 100 Junior players list at position 88 on March 1, 2019. He was awarded the Grandmaster title by FIDE on January 22, 2021.

In July 2021, he won the World Open chess tournament in Philadelphia.

Hans Niemann, whose September victory over Magnus Carlsen has rocked the world, is alleged to have cheated in every game he played this year.

Magnus Carlsen, the current world chess champion, said last month that American grandmaster Hans Moke Niemann was a cheater. The 19-year-old Niemann vehemently refuted this claim.

Hans Niemann Vs Magnus Carlsen

However, Hans Moke Niemann impassionedly says he cheated, but only at two points in his life, describing them as youthful indiscretions committed when he was 12 and 16 years old.

The 19-year-old defended himself to chess’s world champion Magnus Carlsen, who accused him of cheating.

A probe into Niemann’s play has found the scope of his cheating to be far wider and longer-lasting than he publicly admitted.

The investigation was conducted by Chess.com, an online chess platform where several top players compete on various computer platforms.

As per the findings, which The Wall Street Journal has examined, Niemann most certainly got unethical help in more than 100 online games as late as 2020. Those matches included contests in which prize money was on the line.

ALSO, READ | Female Gamers – An Overview Of The Female Gaming Industry

The site uses a variety of cheating-detection tools, including analytics that compare moves to those recommended by chess engines, which are capable of consistently outperforming even the best human players.

The 72-page report also flagged what it described as irregularities in his rise through the game’s elite ranks.

The report confirmed that Niemann privately admitted to the charges, and as a result, he was temporarily barred from chess.com.

Chess.com acknowledged that it hasn’t previously been involved in cheat detection for classical over-the-board chess, despite the fact that Niemann’s development has been “statistically spectacular,” and it refrained from making any definitive claims about whether he has personally cheated.

According to research, Hans is the fastest-rising top player in Classical [over-the-board] chess in contemporary history, which compares his development to that of the game’s greatest rising stars.

Based only on rating, Hans should be included in this elite group of young players. We acknowledge that Hans is a talented player and that his outcomes are statistically exceptional despite no question.

Chess.com has more than 90 million members and hosts big tournaments for elite players with lucrative prize money. It is in the process of buying Carlsen’s Play Magnus app.

Hans Niemman graph — Hans had the fastest and biggest increase in his score over time when looking at all the known Classical OTB games played from age 11-19.

The controversy erupted in early September at the prestigious Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis, where Niemann upset Carlsen while playing with black pieces, which is a disadvantage.

Carlsen then abruptly quit the tournament. The chess community interpreted his action as a protest.

A few weeks later, they reconnected in an online gathering, and Carlsen withdrew after only one move. Days later, the No. 1 in the world stated publicly that he had been right about Niemann.

Magnus Carlsen says he believes his opponent Niemann “has cheated more—and more recently” than he has admitted.

Carlsen: “His over-board progress has been unusual, and throughout our game, I had the impression that he wasn’t tense or even fully concentrating on the game in critical positions”.

On the contrary, Niemann says he never cheated in an event with prize money or live-streamed a game.

In a genuine game, he says, “I would never, could even contemplate doing it.”

Niemann was live-streaming the contests during 25 of 100 suspect games, a report says. A letter sent to Niemann notes “blatant cheating” to improve his rating in various games.

He confessed to the allegations in a phone call with the platform’s chief chess officer, according to a BBC investigation.

Hans Niemann has been barred from participating in Chess.com Global Championship for “serious concerns about how rampant your cheating was,” tournament director Klaus Rensch informed.

The ban came after he made suspicious moves that coincided with moments when he opened up a different screen on his computer.

“We are prepared to present strong statistical evidence that confirms each of those cases above, as well as clear ‘toggling’ vs. ‘non-toggled’ evidence, where you perform much better while toggling to a different screen during your dance moves,” Rensch writes.

Chess.com felt compelled to share the basis for banning Hans Niemann after he publicly addressed his ban, a report says. He was banned from the site’s Global Championship in December.

Chess.com uses a variety of cheat-detection tools, including an analysis of a player’s past performance and strength profile. Computers have “nearly infallible tactical calculation,” the report says. The report says dozens of grandmasters have been caught cheating on the website.

Computers have “nearly infallible tactical calculation,” the report says.

Four of the top-100 players in the world who confessed to cheating were caught, it says.

Identifying violations in over-the-board games remains a major challenge for investigators.

The main reason is that grandmasters who cheat require very little assistance. For a player operating in elite circles, a couple of subtle moves in critical spots can be enough to tilt the balance.

Hans Niemann Ratings

Hans Niemann first crossed 2300 in the ELO rating system used by chess in late 2015 or early 2016.
He achieved grandmaster status at the age of 17 in January 2021. This made him a relatively late-bloomer compared to some of his peers.
Over the next 18 months, he picked up more than 180 ELO points. In the ELO system, the fastest way to make large jumps is to win a lot of games.

The paper also discusses Niemann’s post-game evaluation of his movements from his match versus Carlsen, which top players claim revealed a lack of comprehension of the positions he had just played.

The analysis “seems to be at odds with the degree of preparation that Hans Niemann stated was in play in the game and the level of analysis needed to defeat the World Chess Champion,” the article claims.