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Chess Cheating Scandal

L'affaire Niemann - Great article in January 2023 issue of ChessLife by John Hartmann

December 19, 2022 - January 23rd, 2023. We play "club chess" at Waterville Chess Club. Tournament chess is a bit more intense (even our local events here in Maine), but by the time you get onto the world stage and add in Magnus Carlsen it gets very intense. Ever since the Sinquefield Cup tournament in August 2022, the chess world has been absorbed with the clash between Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann that exploded with Carlsen's withdrawal from the tournament. Opinions about whether Hans cheated and why Magnus refuses to play him again vary, but it is clear that the controversy has captured our attention (perhaps distracting us from other scandals and controversies that have a more significant impact on our lives, at least in the long run).

There have already been a ton of videos and articles, lots of news coverage, and now a lawsuit. You might not find this particularly interesting; after all, we meet every week for the pleasure of playing chess or improving our game [most of us, anyway]. But if you do find it interesting: I created a new web page that collects up most of the articles and videos and images I have been following (because there are just so many of them)! The material ranges from commentary to coverage to satire. And, for good measure, some of the videos showcase some of Hans Niemann's games (before and after the game that started the ruckus). To be honest, much of it covers the same ground, but I found it interesting to hear different opinions of the meaning behind the publicly available information. And some of the games are fun to review.

I have certainly been getting my money's worth from Google and YouTube (and the New York Times), but I have been paywalled from some other publications (so your mileage may vary). As a full-fledged armchair commentator, I have thrown in my two cents to the debate. And, yes, it is taking forever for me to finish the new page, so I am publishing half a loaf for now and will add the rest when I can; more material comes out almost every day, so I will continue to update the page until people stop writing, blogging, vlogging and podcasting about it! After all, cheating (or the suspicion that there has been cheating) is not likely to go away any time soon.