The latest flashpoint in the Carlsen-Niemann saga took place in the sixth round of the preliminaries at the Julius Baer Generation Cup, one of the online events in the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. Ten days earlier, 19-year-old Hans Niemann had beaten Magnus Carlsen over the board at the Sinquefield Cup. Carlsen’s shock withdrawal from that event got the rumour mill spinning, which only accelerated after Niemann’s admission that he had cheated online at ages 12 and 16, although he insisted that those incidents are behind him.
In the Generation Cup, Carlsen made just one move against Niemann before resigning, clearly in protest. After the event Carlsen released a statement, making it clear that he suspects Niemann of more extensive cheating and that he won’t be playing any more games against him.
Carlsen’s cold-blooded conviction in this matter is remarkable.
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