A court in Missouri, USA, dismissed chess player Hans Niemann’s defamation lawsuit against five-times world champion chess player Magnus Carlsen: Niemann had sought $100 million in damages after Carlsen and other chess players had publicly accused of cheating in a game against Carlsen, mostly without evidence. Niemann claimed that those who had accused him had done so with defamatory statements and positions, in order to isolate him in the chess context and prevent him from playing at the levels he was used to. The court also rejected allegations that Niemann was illegally barred from tournaments. Niemann’s attorneys said they will sue in another state court.
In September 2022 Niemann had unexpectedly beaten Carlsen, almost unanimously considered the strongest chess player of all time and at that time undefeated in dozens of games. Shortly thereafter Carlsen had withdrawn from the tournament in which the match had taken place in a very controversial way, suggesting that Niemann had cheated. Some time later he had explicitly accused him. The doubts about Niemann had been fueled by the way he had talked about the victory, without seeming very aware of how he had achieved it. On the other hand, many had pointed out that it was not possible to cheat in a chess game of that level, and against Niemann there has never been concrete evidence.
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