ReportWire

Tag: Hikaru Nakamura

  • Chess World’s ‘Anal Bead’ Cheating Saga Quietly Comes To An End

    Chess World’s ‘Anal Bead’ Cheating Saga Quietly Comes To An End

    [ad_1]

    It felt like this day might never come, but former world champion Magnus Carlsen and grandmaster Hans Niemann have finally put the cheating scandal that rocked the chess world last year, including meme-filled speculation about anal beads, to bed.

    This Narrative Adventure About Doomed Teenage Dinosaurs Feels Too Real

    Chess.com and Carlsen reached a settlement with Niemann, who had sued them and Twitch streamer Hikaru Nakamura for $100 million over what he alleged was a “civil conspiracy” to defame him. “We are pleased to report that we have reached an agreement with Hans Niemann to put our differences behind us and move forward together without further litigation,” Chess.com wrote in an update on August 28. As a result, Niemann will once again be allowed to compete on the online chess platform, and Carlsen has agreed to play him in the future should they meet in a tournament.

    “I acknowledge and understand Chess.com’s report, including its statement that there is no determinative evidence that Niemann cheated in his game against me at the Sinquefield Cup,” Carlsen said in a statement. “I am willing to play Niemann in future events, should we be paired together.”

    It was the former world champion’s remarks that initially set the largest cheating scandal in the modern era of the game in motion. After losing to Niemann in a shocking upset during the early stages of the August 2022 Sinquefield Cup, Carlsen resigned from the tournament completely, and tweeted out a Jose Mourinho meme implying Niemann had cheated.

    The accusations took chess message boards and Twitch communities by storm, with viewers in the Chessbrah Twitch chat joking that maybe Niemann had used anal beads to communicate with someone sending him the best moves from the outside using an AI chess engine. Anal beads became a running joke, not because there was any evidence they were ever used, but precisely because there was never any evidence that Niemann ever actually cheated, let alone how he would have managed to, given the Sinquefield Cup’s strict security. It even became the basis for an entire episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

    It was all fun and games until Carlsen doubled-down on his allegations in September and Chess.com released a 72-page report in October accusing Niemann of cheating in several matches played on the website. Niemann fired back with a $100 million lawsuit accusing Carlsen of leveraging his “media empire” and partnerships with Chess.com to try and get Niemann blacklisted from tournaments and shunned from the professional chess world.

    A federal judge tossed out Niemann’s lawsuit in June, but he tried to appeal the decision and now the two sides have settled. While Chess.com said it stands by its previous report, it also admits that there is no “determinative evidence” that Niemann ever cheated in any in-person games.

    “I am pleased that my lawsuit against Magnus Carlsen and Chess.com has been resolved in a mutually acceptable manner, and that I am returning to Chess.com,” Niemann said in a statement. “I look forward to competing against Magnus in chess rather than in court.”

             

    [ad_2]

    Ethan Gach

    Source link

  • Chess Champ’s Mouse Slip Costs Him Final Match And $30K Top Prize

    Chess Champ’s Mouse Slip Costs Him Final Match And $30K Top Prize

    [ad_1]

    Photo: Dean Mouhtaropoulos (Getty Images)

    On April 6, 5-Time World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen lost in a dramatic and surprising way: His mouse slipped and he moved his queen to the wrong spot, instantly costing him the match. Not only did this knock him out of the tournament and cost him a chance at the sizable $30,000 top prize, but this was also the last event he’d participate in as the reigning World Champion.

    The Team Behind Tetris On The New Movie And Gaming History

    Last year, you might remember that one of the biggest stories in the world of professional chess was the surprising defeat of Carlsen at the hands of the young Grandmaster Hans Niemann. The stunning upset quickly sparked online accusations of cheating, with one particular Reddit (joke) theory about vibrating anal beads spreading like wildfire. Carlsen believes Niemann is a cheater and Chess.com accused him of cheating, too. Niemann denied the charges and in October 2022 sued Carlsen, his chess app Play Magnus, the website Chess.com, Chess.com’s Daniel Rensch, and streamer Hikaru Nakamura for $100 million.

    But before all of this, Carlsen had already announced his plans to vacate his Chess World Champion seat. And Thursday’s match against Hikaru Nakamura was part of his last event as champ. I doubt anyone expected it would all end with a simple error caused by a mouse slip.

    Carlsen’s misclick costs him the match

    As reported by Chess.com, Carlsen was competing against his old rival, Nakamura; the two are considered to be two of the best online chess players in the world. They were competing in an armageddon-rules play-off in the Losers Bracket. But in the final seconds of the tense match, Carlsen accidentally dropped his queen on the wrong spot. According to chess grandmaster David Howell it was “the worst possible mouse slip.” Right after the mistake, Nakamura took down Carlsen’s misplaced queen and the game ended instantly.

    The tournament is still ongoing, and Nakamura has advanced out of the Losers Bracket and toward the prize money.

    As for Carlsen, this likely won’t be the end of the world. While he will vacate his World Champion title soon, he won’t be retiring. In July 2022, he explained in a podcast that he will remain an active chess player and has events and matches to come in the future. He just no longer wanted to defend his title, as he found it was starting to be a more negative than positive experience, even when winning.

    Still, I bet he didn’t have “mouse slips and I lose my final match as World Champ in a million-dollar tournament” on the bingo card for how this chapter of his career would wrap up.

    [ad_2]

    Zack Zwiezen

    Source link