Magnus Carlsen accuses Niemann of cheating in official statement: “He has cheated more than he publicly admitted to.”

As was promised by the world champion, Magnus Carlsen, during the recent Chess tour, he dropped an official statement regarding the cheating controversy. The reason behind his bizarre withdrawal from the Sinquefield Cup and resignation against Niemann is now clear. Magnus Carlsen believes Hans Niemann has cheated, more than he admitted to.

On 5th September, Magnus Carlsen withdrew from the Sinquefield Cup after losing to 19-year-old Hans Niemann with white pieces. When both players paired up again in the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, Carlsen resigned after one move. Both of these were unprecedented and only leaned toward the theory that Carlsen believes Niemann cheated. However, all were complete insinuations until today when he finally dropped a long statement confirming the rumors.

Carlsen admitted that his actions have frustrated many in the chess community, but he is in the same shoes. "I'm frustrated. I want to play chess. I want to continue to play chess at the highest level in the best events."

Hans Niemann came to the Sinquefield Cup as a replacement player as Richard Rapport couldn't make it due to travel issues. After Sinquefield Cup invited Niemann, Carlsen strongly considered withdrawing, but he ended up choosing to play. This also confirms Fabiano Caruana's story which he revealed to the public in the C-Squared Podcast.

Carlsen then dropped the cheating allegations against Hans Niemann. He believes the American has been cheating more than he has admitted to and that his overall rise in OTB games have been suspicious. He also mentioned how Niemann wasn't tense or fully concentrating during critical positions.

"I believe that Niemann has cheated more - and more recently - than he has publicly admitted. His over-the-board progress has been unusual, and throughout our game in the Sinquefield Cup, I had the impression that he wasn't tense or even fully concentrating on the game in critical positions while outplaying me as black in a way I think only a handful of players can do. This game contributed to changing my perspective."

Magnus Carlsen then declared that he will not play against Hans Niemann due to his cheating history, "I don't want to play against people that have repeatedly cheated in the past, because I don't know what they are capable of doing in the future."

Magnus Carlsen, calling cheating an existential threat to the game, wants chess organizers to increase security measures and ways to detect cheating in over-the-board chess. He also wants to speak more of the matter but he revealed that he can't say more without permission from Niemann himself.

"There is more that I would like to say. Unfortunately, I am limited in what I can say without explicit permission from Niemann to speak openly. So far, I have only been able to speak through my actions and those actions have clearly stated I am not willing to play chess with Niemann. I hope that the truth on this matter comes out, whatever it may be."

With all insinuations confirmed and Carlsen bringing his frustration to light, all eyes are on Hans Niemann to respond. From Carlsen's withdrawal to Niemann's heartfelt interview, the chess community has been conflicted on which side to believe. But recently, with multiple Super-GMs subtly supporting Carlsen and revealing their own suspicions, the public has more reason to support his allegations. Will the truth come out and who will ultimately take the heat?