A judgement of Solomon. Fifteen months after the fact, the FIDE Ethics and Discipline Commission has delivered a “measured” verdict in the Carlsen-Niemann affair that shook the chess community. Magnus Carlsen, who had expressed serious doubts about Hans Niemann’s honesty after being beaten by the young American at the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis, has only been sanctioned for having walked out of the prestigious tournament for no real reason. He will have to pay a modest fine of 10,000 euros.
Accused of damaging the image of the game of chess and accusing his opponent of cheating, the five-time world champion is cleared on both counts, judged ” not guilty “. The committee examined the chronology of events and found that Carlsen had not made any accusations during his outburst, contenting himself with a cryptic tweet quoting Jose Mourinho (” if I talk, I risk big trouble “).
The ensuing controversy prompted Hans Niemann to speak out and publicly acknowledge that he had cheated in the past in online games, but not against Carlsen in St. Louis. FIDE believes that the Norwegian only mentioned the American’s possible cheating after the latter had confessed. The FIDE takes this opportunity to emphasize that cheating, whether online or in person, is a ” an attack on the integrity of sport “and validates the report published by chess.com, which concluded that Niemann had probably cheated more than he admitted.
Be that as it may, FIDE, with astonishing cynicism, states that this affair has not tarnished the reputation of chess and, on the contrary, welcomes the fact that it has attracted media attention. For his part, Hans Niemann continues on his way, convinced that he will soon be the master of chess.
