Chess grandmaster Hans Niemann has denied cheating at the 2022 Sinquefield Cup in an interview with Piers Morgan.
Niemann, who played against Norwegian grandmaster and world number one Magnus Carlsen, was accused of using a vibrating sex toy to receive remote instructions from his coach during the game.
The allegation sparked a legal battle between the 20-year-old and Carlsen which ended in a £79 million settlement.
Speaking on Piers Morgan Uncensored in an interview, he spoke about the impact of the scrutiny he faced. Niemann told Morgan: “Well, it was very disheartening to be accused of cheating after that victory.
“These things happen, and I managed to learn a lot during that time, and it really taught me a lot of very important lessons about life and chess.”
When asked specifically by Morgan if the allegations against him were true, Niemann replied: “Categorically, no, of course not.”
Carlsen, 32, withdrew from the tournament at the time and openly accused Niemann of cheating. He has said in the past he will refuse to face Niemann over the chessboard again.
Chess.com banned Niemann from their platform following an investigation which ruled it was ‘likely’ he cheated in more than 100 online games.
Niemann denied the accusations saying he only cheated in online games when he was a teenager, but never during in-person games.
Niemann filed a defamation lawsuit in October 2022 against Chess.com, Carlsen and US grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, who he accused of bolstering the ‘false cheating allegations,’ against him.
The case was dismissed by the judge on June 27 due to jurisdiction issues and an agreement was reached between the parties outside of court.
When his crediblity was questioned, Niemann said: ”So, on their website I have beaten some of the best players in the world. I have performed at the highest level on their websites, which they themselves say that I didn’t cheated.”
He was cleared of cheating by Chess.com and has been reninstated with no restrictions on his account.
Niemann said: “Dealing with that was a learning experience.”
