There is no area of human endeavor involving competition that’s completely immune from scandals . There will always be people who are willing to go to great, underhanded lengths to win even the shortest race. That’s just human nature.
Still, it’s a bit unsettling to see an arena you expect to be above the fray get embroiled in a cheating scandal . But if you would expect the big brains of the chess world to not sling some mud, you’ve got another thing coming, as a particularly nasty accusation has put the relatively quiet, sedate game into the spotlight.
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You probably haven’t heard much lately about chess beyond some hype about ‘The Queen’s Gambit’.
And let’s face it, as good and as popular as Netflix’s show is, it’s kind of fallen by the wayside of late. The show put chess back on the map for a while, but it could only do so much for the game.
But will be difficult to forget chess after hearing about its most recent scandal.
Cheating isn’t something that comes up much in live chess matches. Sure, over the internet you can cheat fairly easily, leaning on computing power — it was a big deal with a human grandmaster lost at chess to a computer for the first time, but it’s been more than 15 years since a human was able to beat the best chess-playing computer.
But how the heck do you cheat an opponent who’s sitting right across from you, in full view of a crowd, during a live match?
It was a question that came up at a tournament in St. Louis recently. At the Sinquefiled Cup, Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, 31, rather shockingly lost a third-round match with 19-year-old Hans Niemann, and subsequently withdrew from the tournament altogether.
Remember, the stakes were high, with $100,000 up for grabs for the tournament’s champion.
Carlsen was expected to beat the youngster handily,
He’s a five-time grand champion, while Niemann, who is also rated as a grandmaster, was the lowest-ranked player in the tournament. According to the Riverfront Times , the two had previously played each other in Miami in an online tournament, where Carlsen won two of three games and Niemann finished with zero points.
After the match, Niemann told an interviewer that “It must be embarrassing for the world champion to lose to an idiot like me. I feel bad for him.”
Niemann beating Carlsen in person was at first heralded as an “upset for the ages.”
But, as Vice reported , given the magnitude of the upset, it didn’t take long for cheating allegations to erupt — and it seemed to come from Carlsen himself, who tweeted a video of soccer coach José Mourinho saying, “If I speak I am in big trouble,” which many interpreted as an accusation of cheating.
Cheating on such a big stage is a huge accusation, so there has to be some sort of evidence, right?
It’s not quite the same as testing sprinters for steroids, you know?
Well, American chess grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura analyzed the match and broke down why he thought Niemann’s strategy indicated cheating in a YouTube video .
Nevertheless, the question remains of how Niemann could possibly have cheated.
Some theorized that Niemann might receive signals from a chess engine analyzing the board as the game progressed using vibration-based buttons in his shoes.
Others suggested an even more subtle way to get those remote, vibrating signals: anal beads.
That’s right: anal beads that vibrate a rhythm that communicates what moves to make.
Other, less salacious and sensational theories suggest that Carlsen’s surprise opening moves were leaked so Niemann could prepare ahead of time.
People have gone to greater lengths for much less than the $100,000 prize, but it does seem like there has to be an easier way for Niemann to have come out ahead.
The accusation also got Elon Musk’s attention.
On Twitter, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO wrote in a now-deleted reply regarding the allegations: “Talent hits a target no one else can hit, genius hits a target no one can see (cause it’s in ur butt).”
Although the cheating accusations haven’t been proven, Niemann is still in an uncomfortable spot.
In addition to becoming the butt of a slew of internet jokes, Niemann has been banned from chess.com and uninvited from its signature event, the Chess.com Global Championship, which boasts a $1 million top prize.
What do you think happened? Let us know in the comments!
h/t: Riverfront Times
