Chess Pro In Anal Bead Scandal Accused Of Cheating 100+ Times

Screenshot: Saint Louis Chess Club/Kotaku

Hans Niemann, who sparked the internet favorite anal bead meme last month after beating world chess champion Magnus Carlsen in a stunning upset, is now accused of cheating in more than 100 online matches, according to an unprecedented 72-page new report from Chess.com. The world’s most popular online chess website has shared it with The Wall Street Journal and is calling for some in-person matches, including Niemann’s win over Carlsen, to be further investigated as well. .

Niemann previously admitted to cheating in online matches twice, including once when he was 14 and once when he was 16. The Wall Street Journal now reports that, according to Chess.com’s findings, the 19-year-old grandmaster actually cheated far more often than that, including in prize money tournaments where real money was at stake. According to the Chess report. com, Niemann also privately confessed to the allegations in 2020.

“Looking at the rating alone, Hans should be ranked as a member of this group of top young players,” the Wall Street Journal quoted the report. “Although we have no doubt that Hans is a talented player, we note that his results are statistically extraordinary.”

Chess.com cheat detection uses an algorithm to calculate the likelihood of someone cheating based on things like how fast they move, how well a computer classifies the move, how often they “switch” between screens of his computer and his past as a player on the site. It’s all about trying to figure out if someone is using a chess engine to provide them with the best moves in a given situation.

Read more: Chess players are convinced the anal beads scandal is causing more online cheating

What his algorithm isn’t designed to do is determine the likelihood that Niemann cheated in all-out matches, like the now infamous early September against Carlsen. Even so, the report calls for further investigation into this game, as well as others, particularly due to what it calls Niemann’s “unusually erratic growth” in his player ratings at various points in his career. career.

While all of this explains Niemann’s recent ban from Chess.com, it will only fuel speculation about his landslide victory over Carlsen. It didn’t help that the world champion quit a tournament after a single move, leading many to see it as a protest against the cheating methods. The evidence for the charges at the time was so thin that Twitch chess experts and Reddit posters joked that it must be anal bead supercomputers that vibrate in specific patterns based on what the best move is.

When Carlsen finally broke his silence on the matter, his only real claim was that he had a bad feeling about Niemann while the two were performing. The 19-year-old didn’t seem ‘tense’ or like he was ‘concentrating’ enough, the world champion argued in a written statement. If that sounds like an odd statement that relies too much on amorphous sentiment, it’s worth knowing that chess players can burn thousands of calories just sitting there. At high levels, professional players can even shed pounds during matches. And so it seemed suspicious for a competitor to look so comfortable against the world’s best, that’s the basic argument.

While others criticized Niemann’s post-match analysis of his victory for appearing superficial and unconvincing, no one has yet discovered a smoking gun like a rogue earphone discovered in the bathroom or a mole. who claimed to have leaked Carlen’s strategy before the match. No anal beads either, but also no more convincing explanation of how Niemann was able to cheat in person.

FIDE, the world’s governing body for chess, is still in the midst of its own investigation, but while Chess.com’s findings only related to past online cheating, it’s sure to send the chess world into a tailspin. another free fall. While there’s no reason to doubt Chess.com’s report, many in the community are now calling on the organization to make its findings public so they can review the games in question as well. It’s also worth noting that the online chess company is currently set to buy Carlsen’s chess app for $83 million, although Chess.com told The Wall Street Journal that Carlsen won’t was not involved in the report and in no way influenced its release.

A Chess.com spokesperson told Kotaku that the full 72-page report will be posted online Tuesday evening, but declined to answer any further questions. Niemann and Carlsen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.