Hans Niemann, American chess grandmaster at the centre of an alleged cheating scandal, sued Norwegian world champion Magnus Carlsen, online platform Chess.com and others for slander and libel on Thursday and is seeking at least $100 million in damages, Reuters reported.
The lawsuit named Carlsen's online chess platform Play Magnus, Chess.com executive Danny Rensch and American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura as defendants.
In his law suit, filed at a US District Court in Missouri, Niemann, alleged that the defendants are "colluding to blacklist" him from the professional chess world and that he has been shunned by tournament organisers since five-time world champion Carlsen publicly accused him of cheating.
How it all began
Carlsen's surprise defeat to Niemann in September sparked a furore of comments and allegations. The 31-year-old Norwegian had quit the Sinquefield Cup in Saint Louis after the defeat, saying he is unwilling to play against Niemann or any player who cheats.
"I believe that Niemann has cheated more and more recently- than he has publicly admitted," Carlsen wrote. Hans Niemann, 19, had previously admitted to cheating twice.
"His over the board progress has been unusual and throughout our game in the Sinquefield Cup I had the impression that he wasn't tense or even fully concentrating on the game in critical positions, while outplaying me as black in a way think only a handful of players can do. "This game contributed to changing my perspective," the world champion explained.
"I believe that cheating in chess is a big deal and an existential threat to the game and chess organisers and all those who care about the sanctity of the game we love should seriously consider increasing security measures and methods of cheat detection for over the board chess," Carlsen wrote.
"We must do something about cheating, and for my part going forward, I don't want to play against people that have cheated repeatedly in the past, because don't know what they are capable of doing in the future."
"So far I have only been able to speak with my actions, and those actions have stated clearly that am not willing to play chess with Niemann. Hope that the truth on this matter comes out, whatever it may be."
An investigation report released by Chess.com reveals that Hans likely cheated online much more than his public statements suggest.
Lawyers for Chess.com issued a statement that there was no merit to Niemann's allegations. "Hans confessed publicly to cheating online in the wake of the Sinquefield Cup, and the resulting fallout is of his own making," the statement read.
"Chess.com looks forward to setting the record straight on behalf of its team and all honest chess players."Representatives for Carlsen and Nakamura did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Chess.com banned Niemann after the first match against Carlsen and
Chess.com in its report said Niemann had likely cheated more than 100 times in online games.
Niemann had previously been banned from Chess.com for cheating online, having admitted he had not played fairly in non-competitive games on the website in his youth, but denied any wrongdoing while contesting over-the-board games.
His lawsuit said that Chess.com "banned Niemann from its website and all of its future events, to lend credence to Carlsen's unsubstantiated and defamatory accusations of cheating". "Carlsen, having solidified his position as the 'King of Chess,' believes that when it comes to chess, he can do whatever he wants and get away with it," the complaint added.
The complaint also said Niemann brings this action to recover from the devastating damages that Defendants have inflicted upon his reputation.
The lawsuit further accused Nakamura, a streaming partner of Chess.com, of publishing "hours of video content amplifying and attempting to bolster Carlsen's false cheating allegations."
Meanwhile, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) said it would open an investigation into the allegations of cheating.
