Hans Niemann faces new unsubstantiated cheating claims after winning Tournament of Peace with near-flawless run | Chess News

American grandmaster Hans Niemann has found himself confronted unsubstantiated cheating allegations once more after he convincingly won the horic Tournament of Peace 2023 in Croatia’s Zagreb on Thursday. His margin of victory was a massive three points over the rest of the 10-man field.
He won seven games and drew two in the tournament in which everyone was a grandmaster. Despite that, he went unbeaten at the tournament. However, his victory was soured after a tournament organiser reportedly told the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten that while there was no proof that the American GM had cheated, there had been “indications”.
On her X account, grandmaster Susan Polgar shared a quote from the organiser, who called Niemann’s performance “out of this world”.
Polgar’s tweet quoted the organiser as telling the Norwegian newspaper: “We have no concrete evidence that he is cheating. We have some indications, but we don’t know if anyone will report him.”
Soon after his comments, Niemann’s attorney, Terrence Oved of Oved & Oved LLP, issued a statement to Forbes Betting stating: “Despite the overwhelming proof of Hans’ extraordinary talents, there will always be haters. Our advice to them is simple: Get used to it. Hans is just getting started.”
The new allegations come just as the young American GM is leaving behind the cheating allegations that had cast a shadow over his career. He was accused then world champion Magnus Carlsen of cheating, which led an online chess portal to delete his account. The American then sued Carlsen and the portal for a $100 million. The case was later settled amicably. Even back then, Carlsen was not able ot provide conclusive evidence of any wrongdoing from the American GM.
In the past, Niemann has admitted to cheating multiple times in online chess games. But he was steadfast in his assertions that he never cheated in over the board games.
After the win in Zagreb, the 20-year-old Niemann audaciously compared himself to former world champion Bob Fischer on social media. The enigmatic Fischer had won the Zagreb event in 1970, two years before he dethroned Boris Spassky as the world champion.
In one post, Niemann posted the iconic quote from Fischer: “I like the moment when I break a man’s ego.”
In a subsequent post, he used an image of Fischer and himself winning at the event, with a tweet that read: “Two lone Americans up against the world, facing immeasurable odds. Victorious 53 years apart at the legendary Tournament of Peace. 8/9: 2946 performance rating. I know of no better life purpose than to perish in attempting the great and the impossible.”
The series of results saw his ratings rise to 2693.7 in the live charts.
From Croatia, Niemann will travel to London where he will play at the London Chess Classic 2023. At the London Chess event, Niemann will run into India’s Gukesh D, who is chasing a spot at the Candidates Tournament next year.