Since a 19-year-old Twitch streamer allegedly cheated in a chess game against world champion Magnus Carlson in a very curious way, the chess world has been upside down. Even in the hobby sector, more and more players are complaining about cheaters.
Why is everyone talking about chess right now? As part of a tournament, there was a chess match between the current world champion Magnus Carlson and the 19-year-old Twitch streamer Hans Niemann. Then something happened that many observers are still puzzled by: Grandmaster Magnus Carlson lost the game after 57 moves.
Carlson had previously been undefeated for 53 games, but in this match, he made several mistakes. Carlson, who played with white in this round, found himself forced to resign. He was left with only one bishop against two pawns and a knight in a hopeless situation. You can follow the game move by move here (via chessgame.com).
Niemann, also a grandmaster at the age of 19, was nonetheless considered an underdog by most observers. His surprising success caused quite a stir in the global chess community.
Netflix series “The Queen’s Gambit” has contributed to the chess hype:
First a sensation – now a scandal
After his loss, Magnus Carlson ended his participation in the tournament but shortly afterward returned with an ominous tweet. Without explicitly commenting, he hinted that Niemann may have cheated.
Although there were security measures against cheating attempts at this chess tournament, it didn’t take long for the first and admittedly quite crazy speculations to arise about how Niemann might have cheated. For example, there’s a theory circulating that Niemann may have used a neural implant to gain an unfair advantage.
The world champion subsequently stated that he would not compete against Hans Niemann in the future because he is a cheater. You can read the entire statement here (via twitter.com).
Incident sparks interest and encourages imitators
It is likely thanks to the controversy surrounding Carlson and Niemann’s games that chess is currently receiving a lot of media attention again. The crazy theories about how Niemann could have cheated certainly contribute significantly to this.
In recent years, chess has become increasingly popular among young people. Niemann is by no means the only chess professional on Twitch. So it is no surprise that the platform chess.com records an influx of 50,000 new players daily (via chess.com).
In a post on their website, they also discuss how prevalent cheating is in online chess. The platform reportedly bans about 800 accounts suspected of cheating daily. About 6 percent of all support requests reportedly relate to cheating and fraud.
Twitch is not only in the spotlight for cheating scandals:
Since the platform’s inception, about 500,000 accounts have been banned for cheating. The operators suspect this number could double by 2023. However, this does not mean that all the banned accounts used third-party software to gain an advantage. Common reasons for bans also include players who manipulated their ELO rating or otherwise violated the fair play rules.
However, the platform warns that cheating paranoia can also have negative effects on the community. Not every suspicion of cheating will ultimately prove true. Thus, it is important to prevent a culture of distrust. Chess.com assures that they are doing everything possible to ensure fair competition. They have invested heavily in technology to monitor cheating attempts and automate account bans.
Has all the fuss around chess sparked your interest? Or do cheaters deter you from trying online chess? Feel free to leave us a comment!
