The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has decided to investigate the cheating claims made by Magnus Carlsen against American grandmaster Hans Niemann.
FIDE’s Fair Play Commission has formed a three-member investigatory panel to look into Carlsen’s claims that the American violated the rules during the pair’s meeting in Sinquefield Cup in St Louis, Missouri.
Niemann defeated the World Champion despite being almost 200 Elo Points (rating system used to calculate a chess player’s skill level) behind the Norwegian. Carlsen withdrew from the tournament the very next day prompting the chess community to ratiocinate that Niemann had cheated.
The two met again in the Julius Baer Generation Cup, where the 31-year-old Carlsen resigned from their match after just a single move adding more fuel to the fire.
Carlsen then broke his silence on the scandal and in a statement said that he believed Niemann had “cheated more – and more recently – than he has publicly admitted”.
FIDE must now investigate whether the cheating claims hold merit or not.
FIDE said in a statement “The focus of the investigation would be twofold: checking the world champion’s claims of alleged cheating by Niemann and Niemann’s self-statement regarding online cheating …
“The panel will ensure a fair ruling, protecting the rights of both parties during the investigation.”
Niemann has previously been banned from chess.com after admitting he used ill means in non-competitive games on the website in his youth.
However, he continues to deny the claims of using foul means in over-the-board games.
