Carlsen, Niemann moving on from cheating scandal

Magnus Carlsen (left) and Hans Niemann before the start of their controversial game at the St Louis Chess Club, in September 2022 (Lennart Ootes/St Louis Chess Club)

The final chapter was written recently in the Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann feud, according to leading chess platform Chess.com, which said they had reached an agreement and decided to put their differences aside. They will now move forward together without further litigation.

Last September at the Sinquefield Cup in St Louis, Missouri, Carlsen of Norway, a five-time world chess champion who has rarely been beaten, was defeated by Niemann, an unknown 19-year-old American grandmaster. Carlsen, 32, hinted that Niemann had cheated during the game, a declaration that rocked the chess world. Major newspapers covered the scandal. The accusation escalated into a multimillion-dollar lawsuit and an investigation into allegations of cheating against Niemann.