The cheating scandal that rocked the chess world continues with Hans Niemann filing suit against its top ranked player, Magnus Carlsen, and online playing platform Chess.com, claiming the league’s elites colluded to keep Niemann out of the game. Niemann reportedly wants $100 million in damages after Chess.com alleged that the American player had “likely cheated” in more than 100 online matches. Their probe arose after Carlsen forfeited a game against him over odd behavior and atypically quick moves made during a tournament. The rumors became so heated that Niemann was put through an unusual buttock scan at the U.S. Chess Championships in St. Louis earlier this month, after online commentators had speculated that the grandmaster had used coded messages via a butt vibrator to trump his competition. “This is not a game,” Niemann’s attorneys said in a statement. “Defendants have destroyed Niemann’s life simply because he had the talent, dedication and audacity to defeat the so-called ‘King of Chess.’ We will hold defendants fully accountable and expose the truth.”
