American chess grandmaster Hans Niemann has announced that he is suing Magnus Carlsen (the reigning world champion) for defamation and is seeking at least $100 million in damages. Niemann filed suit against those who accused him of fraud.

Hans Niemann sued Magnus Carlsen for $100 million

The defendants in the lawsuit filed by Niemann in Missouri are Magnus Carlsen, Play Magnus AS d/b/a Play Magnus Group, Chess.com, Daniel Rensch and Hikaru Nakamura.

The complaint alleges that the defendants repeatedly made false and defamatory statements about Niemann, which affected his reputation.

In addition, Hans Niemann lost potential winnings in tournaments he no longer had access to because of allegations that he had cheated.

Earlier this month, Chess.com published a report showing that Hans Niemann may have cheated in at least 100 online matches.

“I think Niemann has been cheating recently, which he hasn’t admitted publicly,” Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen said in late September.

Chess.com, a chess platform with more than 100 million users worldwide, confirmed Carlsen’s claims.

Chess.com’s 72-page report, based on analysis of matches, performances, match behavior and various detection methods, found that by 2020, Niemann “likely received illegal assistance in more than 100 online matches,” including those in which had cash prizes at stake.

Based on the analyzed data, Chess.com recognized the progress of the American, who became a grandmaster in January 2021, “extraordinary from a statistical point of view” and surpasses the progress of such chess geniuses as Bobby Fischer or Magnus Carlsen.

However, Chess.com said there was no evidence that Niemann cheated in head-to-head matches and called on the international federation to continue investigating Hans Niemann.

Niemann has now admitted to cheating in two matches, when he was 12 and when he was 16. The grandmaster is now 19 years old, according to News.ro.