ICLs (cont.)

It starts off in September 2022, in the Sinquefield Cup, where Magnus Carlsen, the world’s highest rated chess player participated as a wildcard. It was an over-the-board tournament and with Carlsen having an unbeaten 53 game win streak, he was unstoppable Niemann on the other hand was a replacement for one of the grandmasters who could not attend the tournament and was the lowest rated player in the tournament In the third round of the tournament, Niemann beat Carlsen using the black pieces, and it was a shocking upset especially since Carlsen had the first-move advantage Carlsen promptly withdrew from the tournament and in a tweet announced his withdrawal alongside stating that he preferred not to speak about it The chess community saw the tweet as an insinuating accusation against Niemann, stating that he “cheated”, and this immediately sparked controversy Another match was scheduled between the two on September 19 in the Julius Baer Generations Cup, but Carlsen instantly resigned after move two and did not provide any statement Carlsen later stated that he wanted more focus on “fair play” in chess and wanted authorities to investigate the matter Niemann defended himself, saying that he did not cheat in the Sinquefield Cup and accused authorities of trying to ruin his career He stated that “the only two times I have ever cheated was when I was 12 years old in a prize event and when I was 16 years old in random games” He stated that he was “ashamed of himself” and wouldn’t repeat the actions, especially in a competitive scenario However, Chess com analysed and found that Niemann had allegedly cheated in more than hundred games, and he was promptly banned from the site.