Posted on Sep 21, 2022
The cheating scandal roiling the chess world has a new wrinkle
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https://www.npr.org/2022/09/21/ [login to see] /chess-cheating-scandal-niemann-carlsen
The cheating controversy gripping the world of elite chess was already enigmatic — but it deepened even more this week, when world champion Magnus Carlsen abruptly resigned after making a single move in his highly anticipated rematch with Hans Niemann.
Carlsen, 31, and Niemann, 19, were facing off in the Julius Baer Generation Cup roughly two weeks after Niemann defeated Carlsen — a win that was immediately thrown into question by a cryptic tweet from Carlsen that seemed to suggest Niemann was cheating.
The drama threw chess into a tizzy, and fueled anticipation for Monday's match between Carlsen and Niemann in the online tournament. But after Niemann made his first move as white, Carlsen responded with a single move as black and then quit.
The cheating controversy gripping the world of elite chess was already enigmatic — but it deepened even more this week, when world champion Magnus Carlsen abruptly resigned after making a single move in his highly anticipated rematch with Hans Niemann.
Carlsen, 31, and Niemann, 19, were facing off in the Julius Baer Generation Cup roughly two weeks after Niemann defeated Carlsen — a win that was immediately thrown into question by a cryptic tweet from Carlsen that seemed to suggest Niemann was cheating.
The drama threw chess into a tizzy, and fueled anticipation for Monday's match between Carlsen and Niemann in the online tournament. But after Niemann made his first move as white, Carlsen responded with a single move as black and then quit.
The cheating scandal roiling the chess world has a new wrinkle
Posted from npr.org
Chess
Scandal
Posted >1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel WHAT? Cheating... say it ain't so Chip...
..."This is literally the best player in the world playing in a tournament and simply quitting" without explanation, Ashley said.
"This is not what sports are about. We just can't continue like this."
The cheating accusations emerged after Niemann's player rating on Chess.com enjoyed "a really significant, almost unprecedented rise" since the start of 2021, Caleb Wetherell, who runs Pawnalyze, a chess analysis website, told NPR last weekend.
Niemann's rise could be interpreted as meaning he was underrated by the system. But Ashley and others worry that cheating suspicions could now taint any young prodigy who improves rapidly, in a field that's long been famous for its prodigies.
Because of the scale of the questions raised by Carlsen's actions, there are increasing calls for the International Chess Federation to investigate — an idea with which Ashley agrees.
"Someone has to step in and figure out what's going on and give us some kind of process for moving forward," he said."
..."This is literally the best player in the world playing in a tournament and simply quitting" without explanation, Ashley said.
"This is not what sports are about. We just can't continue like this."
The cheating accusations emerged after Niemann's player rating on Chess.com enjoyed "a really significant, almost unprecedented rise" since the start of 2021, Caleb Wetherell, who runs Pawnalyze, a chess analysis website, told NPR last weekend.
Niemann's rise could be interpreted as meaning he was underrated by the system. But Ashley and others worry that cheating suspicions could now taint any young prodigy who improves rapidly, in a field that's long been famous for its prodigies.
Because of the scale of the questions raised by Carlsen's actions, there are increasing calls for the International Chess Federation to investigate — an idea with which Ashley agrees.
"Someone has to step in and figure out what's going on and give us some kind of process for moving forward," he said."
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