The reigning chess world champion Magnus Carlsen has promised to say more “very soon”, days after he announced his sudden exit from a tournament over a cheating scandal that has taken the chess community by storm.
Norwegian chess star Carlsen announced his decision to quit from chess’s Sinquefield Cup without any explanation soon after he suffered a shock defeat against Hans Niemann, a 19-year-old American who is the lowest-ranked player in the tournament.
Carlsen did not explicitly speak about cheating allegations at the game, writing in a tweet: “I’ve withdrawn from the tournament. I’ve always enjoyed playing in the @STLChessClub, and hope to be back in the future.”
But he accompanied the tweet with a meme video of football manager Jose Mourinho telling reporters: “I prefer really not to speak. If I speak, I am in big trouble.”
His sudden withdrawal and the cryptic video post are being interpreted as a veiled accusation of cheating against Niemann.
And Carlsen exlicitly mentioned “cheating in chess” on Sunday, saying that he would release a public statement within days.
“I generally want … cheating in chess to be dealt with seriously,” he said.
“I’ll certainly put out the statement very soon and that will also not be all you hear from me on that,” the chess grandmaster added.
His comments came after winning the Generations Cup final against Indian Arjun Erigaisi on Sunday.
Niemann has categorically denied cheating and accused his opponent of attempting to ruin his career. He said he has only cheated twice in online games when he was 12 and 16, but he has since focused on his game.
“This is the single biggest mistake of my life and I am completely ashamed, and I’m telling the world because I don’t want misrepresentations and I don’t want rumours,” he said.
“I have never cheated in an over-the-board game.”
Carlsen won the Julius Baer Generation Cup, becoming the first player in the world to smash the 2900 Tour Rating barrier after defeating India’s Erigaisi.
