Key Points
- Security was tight when Hans Niemann arrived at the US Chess Championships.
- What happened next left him the subject of online jokes.
Accused chess cheater Hans Niemann has faced online ridicule after he was forced to undertake a lower body search at the US Chess Championships.
The 19-year-old US chess grandmaster offered to play naked — anal beads — to beat reigning five-time World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen in September.
While the claim is unsubstantiated, security was tight when Niemann arrived at the Championships in St. Louis, Missouri on Wednesday.
All contestants, including Niemann, were first checked by a standard metal detector wand before arbiter Chris Bird scanned them with a “new and improved” wand.
Mr Bird decided to scan Niemann from the front and the back, despite only scanning the previous two contestants from the front.
The next player in line, Irina Krush, gave a wry smile while online viewers poked fun at the situation in the live chat on streaming service Twitch.
“Is there a proctologist in the house?” one viewer wrote.
“Do him extra thorough,” another viewer said.
While some comments accused Hans of cheating, many praised him for his “alpha stance” and as the “GOAT” (greatest of all time).
Niemann beat 15-year-old grandmaster Christopher Yoo in his Championship game on Wednesday, which he said was “a message to everyone” in a post-match interview.
"This entire thing started with me saying, 'Chess speaks for itself,' and I think this game spoke for itself and showed the chess player I am,” he said.
"It also showed I'm not going to back down, and I'm going to play my best chess here regardless of the pressure."
Niemann then cut the interview short despite the presenters’ attempts to ask more questions.
"You can leave it to your own interpretation, but thank you, that's it. That's all I can say. Because it was such a beautiful game I don't even need to describe it,” he said.
“What? That’s it? Okay, I actually had one question if we’re still in the studio, I guess not,” said commentator Yasser Seirawan.
Hans Neimann accused of 'likely' cheating more than 100 times
The popular chess website released a 72-page report after launching an investigation into allegations against the 19-year-old champion that he has cheated in both online and over-the-board games.
Chess.com's allegations of Niemann's extensive cheating are far greater than what he has previously admitted. Niemann has said he has only cheated twice in his career, once when he was 12 and once when he was 16.
Chess.com said there was "no direct evidence" that Niemann has cheated in any over-the-board games.
To determine its findings, the website used sophisticated technology that it said has been well known for detecting cheating for more than 15 years.
Niemann has previously been banned from chess.com for cheating online after admitting he had not played fairly in non-competitive games on the website in his youth in previous interviews. He also said in a past interview that he has never cheated while streaming.
But according to the report, Niemann likely cheated in 25 games while streaming.
Niemann's invitation to participate in Chess.com's next major online event has since been revoked.
"We want the best for Hans. We want the best for Magnus. We want the best for chess. We want stability, fairness, and joy in the chess community, not turbulence, conspiracy, and accusations," Chess.com said in the conclusion to its report.
Grandmaster Magnus Carlen resigns during game
Allegations of cheating emerged last month when Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen suffered a surprising defeat in the US Sinquefield Cup after playing against Niemann in-person.
The Norwegian then resigned at the Julius Baer Generation Cup after just one move against Niemann in an online game. His withdrawal had prompted swirling suspicions of Niemann cheating more than what he had let on.
Carlsen said last week he believed Niemann "cheated more, and more recently, than he has publicly admitted".
Niemann has insisted he is "clean" and offered to play nude to remove any suggestion he may have been receiving information from a third party who could transmit signals through some sort of device concealed on his body.
Did Niemann use a sex toy to cheat?
While no evidence of cheating was found, unsubstantiated rumours suggesting Niemann was wearing anal beads that transmitted signals and helped him win the game against Carlsen started spreading.
Adding fuel to the proverbial fire was Elon Musk, who on 8 September tweeted and then deleted the following: “Talent hits a target no one else can hit, genius hits a target no one can see (cause it’s in ur butt) – Schopenhauer.”
Gary Wastell is the president of the Australian Chess Federation.
He said while cheating using a sex toy in a face-to-face game is hard, it’s not impossible.
“It is possible with very sophisticated equipment and a third party that was transmitting or feeding signals to the player,” Mr Wastell told SBS News in September.
“If you have the cooperation of a third party, who’s contactable perhaps within the venue, accessing a computer, monitoring the game as it’s being played and is somehow able to convey a signal to the player during the game, it can be done.”
Niemann has strongly denied the allegations.
“If they want me to strip fully naked, I will do it. I don’t care. Because I know I am clean,” he said in an interview after the game.
In fact, Niemann went a step further in prodding Carlsen.
“It must be embarrassing for the world champion to lose to me. I feel bad for him,” Niemann said.
