Magnus Carlsen blasts lack of anti-cheating efforts in chess after Qatar Masters loss

Chess legend Magnus Carlsen says cheating in chess is still a major issue after a stunning round 2 loss in the Qatar Masters tournament.

Carlsen, the world’s top-ranked chess pro, was left humbled at the hands of Kazakh Grandmaster Alisher Suleymenov on October 12, but Magnus isn’t taking the loss lightly.

In a scathing post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Carlsen referenced his drama with Hans Niemann, whom he had suggested cheated in order to beat him last year, and the lack of anti-cheat measures since.

According to Magnus, his opponent’s decision to wear a watch during their match played a crucial factor in his defeat, and he lashed out at the event’s staff for its lack of anti-cheat protocols.

Magnus Carlsen says chess tournaments aren’t taking cheating seriously

While the Nordic icon praised Suleymenov’s game and claimed that his opponent deserved to win, he took issue with the Qatar Masters organizers and how they are handling the event.

“I was completely crushed in my game today. This is not to accuse my opponent of anything, who played an amazing game and deserved to win, but honestly, as soon as I saw my opponent was wearing a watch early in the game, I lost my ability to concentrate,” he explained.

He continued, claiming that, although losing concentration was his own issue and something he would need to deal with, he noticed several potential cheating methods that are ongoing at events.

2/2 I obviously take responsibility for my inability to deal with those thoughts properly, but it’s also incredibly frustrating to see organisers still not taking anti-cheating seriously at all (no transmission delay, spectators walking around the playing hall with smartphones)

— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) October 12, 2023

“It’s also incredibly frustrating to see organizers still not taking anti-cheating seriously at all,” he slammed.

In addition to his opponent wearing a watch, Magnus listed a lack of transmission delay, and spectators walking around with smartphones as ways that competitors could nefariously impact the results.

He further noted that although he asked an arbiter if watches were allowed and was told that although smartwatches were banned, analog watches were not.

“This seems to be against FIDE rules for events of this stature,” Magnus stated.

I did ask an arbiter during the game whether watches were allowed, and he clarified that smartwatches were banned, but not analog watches. This seems to be against FIDE rules for events of this stature

— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) October 12, 2023

After chess cheating made headlines following accusations made against Hans Niemann, which resulted in a massive lawsuit, it will be interesting to see how tournaments respond and if these remarks are enough to make changes.

Niemann was, however, cleared of any wrongdoing, as Chess.com found that the American Grandmaster didn’t cheat in any in-person games.