This follows, of course, the absolute shitstorm that happened two weeks ago, when Niemann
beat Carlsen at the Sinquefield Cup, one of chess's largest tournaments. Carlsen cryptically posted a clip from soccer manager Jose Mourinho in which he seemingly implied Niemann had cheated against him. Whether Niemann cheated or not instantly became the only topic of conversation in chess; some speculated that Niemann was leaked Carlsen’s strategy ahead of time, while others more fancifully suggested that he somehow used a “shoe computer” connected to an AI chess engine.
No public evidence of cheating has thus far come out, but Niemann was banned from playing on Chess.com, the world’s largest online chess platform. He has been allowed to continue playing on Chess24, the second-largest online chess platform and the one being used by the Julius Baer Generation Cup.
