Hans Niemann hits back at Hikaru’s claim that chess cheating scandal didn’t affect him

Chess pro Hans Niemann has slammed comments from GM Hikaru Nakamura that the cheating scandal had no effect on his pro career.

The chess community was thrown into quite the wild spectacle last year when Hans Niemann was accused of cheating in a match against Magnus Carlsen resulting in a lawsuit.

For months fans and players alike tried to figure out if and how there could be cheating in an over-the-board in-person match with some theories even suggesting an adult toy was transmitting moves through vibrations.

However, Chess.com found no evidence of any wrongdoing and this week, Niemann’s lawsuit against Carlsen and Hikaru over the allegations was resolved, but the pro took issue with comments made after the dispute was settled.

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Hans Niemann slams Hikaru’s new comments about chess cheating scandal

In a YouTube video, Hikaru claimed that Niemann was still being invited to tournaments, but his rating had dropped a bit following the allegations and FIDE implemented new security measures.

“Hans is able to compete very frequently throughout the world. He’s been playing in tournaments pretty much nonstop since the lawsuit,” he said. “He’s not short of opportunities at the present time.”

According to Niemann, however, the events he participated in were open tournaments where he was either the top or second seed, something he called “suicide for your rating.”

“No players of my rating play in these tournaments,” he explained on Twitch. “Last year, I played invitationals [at the St. Louis Chess Club]. I have not been invited to a single tournament in St. Louis. They don’t even respond to my emails.”

Niemann further added that invitational tournaments outside of the US that he used to play in no longer invite him to compete.

We’ll have to see if things change now that the lawsuit has been settled and Magnus Carlsen has agreed to play against Niemann should their paths cross.