The dispute between Norwegian Magnus Carlsen and American Hans Niemann has come to an end. In a statement published on Monday, the reference site Chess.com explained that an agreement had been reached between Niemann and Carlsen, the site and Hikaru Nakamura, all of whom had been sued by the American player for defamation.
“Hans has been fully reinstated at Chess.com, and we look forward to his participation in our tournaments.”writes the site in its press release, while recalling the conclusions of a report dating from October 2022 which condemned Hans Niemann’s cheating. “We stand by the conclusions of our October 2022 report regarding Hans, namely that we have found no compelling evidence that he cheated in offline games.”explains Chess.com.
As a reminder, the case began when Magnus Carlsen, world champion between 2013 and 2023, accused Hans Niemann of cheating after the latter had beaten him at the Sinquefield Cup on September 5, 2022. Niemann then sued the Norwegian, the website Chess.com and the American Hikaru Nakamura for defamation, a claim dismissed by a US federal judge on June 27.
This settlement will allow Niemann to play on Chess.com again and to face Magnus Carlsen, even if suspicions of cheating still surround the American. “I’m looking forward to facing Magnus in chess and no longer in court.”he quipped in the press release.
