Neither social gathering within the Hans Niemann–Magnus Carlsen blood feud has issued a public touch upon the opposite for nearly two months now, which, whereas a disappointing growth for individuals who benefit from the bombast of Niemann or the steady, understated play and method of Carlsen, might be the prudent transfer when the affair has resulted in a $100 million lawsuit. This all started after Carlsen walked out of a event after dropping to Niemann, then kicked into excessive gear when Carlsen lastly accused him of dishonest. Niemann filed his swimsuit in mid-October shortly after arduous dishonest allegations have been made, alleging that Carlsen, Chess.com, and Hikaru Nakamura inflicted “devastating damages” on his “status, profession, and life by egregiously defaming him and unlawfully colluding to blacklist him from the career to which he has devoted his life.”
In responses filed Friday, attorneys for each Carlsen and Chess.com asked that the swimsuit be dismissed, with Carlsen’s attorneys alleging that Niemann “desires to money in by blaming others for the fallout from his personal admitted misconduct.” Chess.com’s authorized staff, in the meantime, was a bit ruder within the opening paragraph of their movement to dismiss. Niemann “brazenly pronounced that his ‘lawsuit speaks for itself,’” they wrote. “He’s proper. It’s so plainly with out benefit that it might have been introduced solely as a public relations stunt.” Each filings search to make the identical two factors: Niemann has failed to satisfy the authorized normal of proof for slander, libel, and tortious interference, and, most crucially, Niemann has undermined his total case by admitting to dishonest.
Niemann’s swimsuit spends a great deal of time on the Chess.com dossier that the platform released in October, a file that detailed his historical past of dishonest on their web site but in addition devoted itself to speculating on Niemann’s over-the-board report. That discrepancy was of nice concern to Niemann’s attorneys, who additionally famous that Chess.com was within the midst of an $83 million acquisition of Magnus Carlsen’s Play Magnus group. Chess.com’s submitting factors out that Niemann’s swimsuit solely insinuates collusion between the 2 entities, whereas failing to current any proof. In addition they notice that his libel case falls aside as a result of he’s a public determine, mockingly, a task that introduced him into affiliation with Play Magnus.
Certainly, Niemann alleges that he was “proudly touted” as a “model ambassador” for Play Magnus—”an extremely profitable world model and on-line chess firm.” He not solely “journey[ed] the world to compete” in these tournaments however was paid to take action, raking in hundreds of {dollars} in “look charges.”
Chess.com
Niemann’s lawsuit downplayed the entire dishonest accusations towards him, writing them off because the small-time, extraordinarily occasional actions of a kid in non-tournament play attempting to boost his rating so he might play higher opponents. He notably failed to handle any of the detailed revelations from Chess.com’s report, and the location and Carlsen each reiterate that all the pieces that’s occurred to Niemann has been the results of his personal status as a cheater. Niemann’s criticism “leaves little question that his historical past of recognized misconduct is the explanation that top-ranked chess gamers and event organizers query the integrity of his play,” Carlsen’s attorneys wrote. They later characterised the swimsuit as “a sequence of grievances searching for a authorized concept.”
“Hans beat Magnus pretty. The best way he was handled was not,” Niemann’s attorneys instructed the Wall Street Journal. “Hans is a winner on and off the board. We’re assured his biggest victories are but to return.”
The uncertainty on the coronary heart of this scandal stays unresolved, and certain will keep that approach. There may be most likely no approach of figuring out whether or not or not Niemann cheated towards Carlsen, irrespective of how a lot circumstantial proof there may be. It does appear clear that Niemann did cheat on Chess.com, although that isn’t the identical as dishonest in big-time tournaments, and I’m no authorized skilled nevertheless it looks as if Niemann’s lawsuit is what the defendants allege it’s: a nothingburger. FIDE, chess’ governing physique, is conducting an investigation of its personal, so perhaps that’ll give us some solutions each time it drops.
