Magnus has withdrawn from Sinquefeld Cup

[Brad Thomson]

Magnus' silence is deafening. By not speaking up he is allowing the cheating rumours to spread. The dude is gutless. This is absolutely unfair to Niemann and to chess in general. Until and unless Magnus clarifies his reasons for withdrawing he is deliberately allowing this situation to fester. If he thinks Niemann cheated he should say so and if he does not he should say so. Why allow the fiasco of innuendo to continue? Again, the dude is gutless.

[Mario Moran-Venegas]

If I was in Magnus' shoes I would act as he is doing.
If there was an accusation of cheating brought to the Arbiter personnel it must remain secret till more checking is done.
If I was Hans Niemann , my comments on the analysis would be exactly as inaccurate and vague as not to give out any of my preparation.
The statement should come from the organizers of the tournament with a date for a future statement on the matter.

[Mario Moran-Venegas]

ANTI-CHEATING REGULATIONS Approved at the Batumi 2018 Fide Congress
Section 3 part B
B. COMPLAINTS 1. Any person having a FIDE Identity Number can file a complaint. 2. All Complaints must be submitted in writing and addressed to the ACC through Fide Office. Complaints must be filed via the relevant Complaint form (Annexes A-B). The complainant shall provide all the information required in the Complaint Form and must detail the reasons why the Complaint is being made, listing all basis available at the time of filing. 3. Oral or informal Complaints are not accepted. 4. In-Tournament Complaints must be delivered to the chief arbiter. Upon receipt of an ITC, the chief arbiter shall; a) inform the complainant about the penalty for filing a manifestly unfounded ITC; b) take steps to investigate the case in the usual manner, with reference to Article 12.9 for possible penalties; c) forward the complaint and his report including all findings to the ACC through Fide Office. If the chief arbiter comes to the conclusion that the ITC is unfounded he may dismiss the complaint during the tournament, subject to his duties under III.B.4.c above. The player retains the right to file a Post-Tournament Complaint on the same incident. 5. When a Post-Tournament Complaint is filed, the complaint must contain explanation of why an ITC was not filed earlier. 6. All Complaints shall list all basis available at the time of filing. 7. All Complaints based solely on the assumption that a person is playing stronger than expected due to his/her rating will be considered manifestly unfounded. 8. ACC may initiate an investigation based on any piece of information that may come into its knowledge regarding a possible cheating incident, including false accusation. 9. When an investigation is triggered by a request by ETH or any other body of Fide authorized by Statute, ACC shall act as an Investigatory Chamber for the triggering body. 10. All information about complaints and investigations shall remain confidential until an investigation is completed by the ACC. In case of breach of confidentiality requirements by complainants or the Chief Arbiter or any other person with knowledge of the complaint or the investigation before the investigation is completed, the ACC can refer all offenders to the ETH.

[Brad Thomson]

The rules do not state that if you are going to go through the proper procedures for filing a cheating complaint you must at the same time withdraw from the tournament. Even if Magnus does think Niemann cheated and even if he has filed the appropriate paperwork and cannot talk about it, this still does not explain why he withdrew. He could still have finished the event. He should still have finished the event. The dude sucked out and he is gutless, unless he has a legitimate reason, and the suggestion that Niemann may have cheated, for there is no way Magnus could be certain about it unless he caught him red-handed, is no legitimate reason. Further, if Magnus HAS filed the paperwork then the organizers could save themselves, Niemann and the chess world a lot of trouble by informing us of the fact without going into any details. This whole mess stinks very badly.

[Fred Harvey]

The rules do not state that if you are going to go through the proper procedures for filing a cheating complaint you must at the same time withdraw from the tournament. Even if Magnus does think Niemann cheated and even if he has filed the appropriate paperwork and cannot talk about it, this still does not explain why he withdrew. He could still have finished the event. He should still have finished the event. The dude sucked out and he is gutless, unless he has a legitimate reason, and the suggestion that Niemann may have cheated, for there is no way Magnus could be certain about it unless he caught him red-handed, is no legitimate reason. Further, if Magnus HAS filed the paperwork then the organizers could save themselves, Niemann and the chess world a lot of trouble by informing us of the fact without going into any details. This whole mess stinks very badly.

We're not sure why you are taking such a strong line over this? Isn't it probable that he has just tired of the "whole mess" and just decided he didn't need the hassle? After all, he doesn't need the money.

[Neil Frarey]

The rules do not state that if you are going to go through the proper procedures for filing a cheating complaint you must at the same time withdraw from the tournament. Even if Magnus does think Niemann cheated and even if he has filed the appropriate paperwork and cannot talk about it, this still does not explain why he withdrew. He could still have finished the event. He should still have finished the event. The dude sucked out and he is gutless, unless he has a legitimate reason, and the suggestion that Niemann may have cheated, for there is no way Magnus could be certain about it unless he caught him red-handed, is no legitimate reason. Further, if Magnus HAS filed the paperwork then the organizers could save themselves, Niemann and the chess world a lot of trouble by informing us of the fact without going into any details. This whole mess stinks very badly.

Seems to me that paranoia has become chess culture.

[Pargat Perrer]

We're not sure why you are taking such a strong line over this? Isn't it probable that he has just tired of the "whole mess" and just decided he didn't need the hassle? After all, he doesn't need the money.

How would you know whether Carlsen doesn't need the money? You state it as if you know it for a fact.

Is Carlsen a billionaire? No, probably just a multi-millionaire. In a world that is getting scarier by the day, in which economic recession and possibly depression is on the table, what mere multi-millionaire is going to decide s/he doesn't need the money? Have you ever heard the wise saying, "Make hay while the sun shines"?

And who are you to know Carlsen has this attitude that he doesn't need the money? A personal friend of Carlsen perhaps? Not likely.

[Pargat Perrer]

Seems to me that paranoia has become chess culture.

I don't too often agree with your posts, but in this case, congratulations, that is a superb statement.

I can't imagine what it is like to play a sport or game in which if you suddenly have a great event way beyond anyone's expectations, you are suspected (very strongly) of cheating.

In this case, Niemann is only 19 and still a junior. Usually being a junior gives one some room to improve dramatically without the cheating stigma. But Niemann is stuck with it anyway, with Carlsen doing his best (it seems) to ensure that very result.

Paranoia has become chess culture precisely because cheating IS possible and has been attempted. Cheating may be more possible in chess than in any other pro sport or game. This is because chess is a 100% information game which computers play much better than the very best humans.

To solve this problem, chess needs more variance. That could be the topic of a whole new thread, I'll just leave it at that for now.

[Brad Thomson]

We're not sure why you are taking such a strong line over this?

Because Neimann is being tossed under the bus as an explanation for Magnus' conduct. This is not at all fair unless there IS something to the allegations that he cheated. If there IS then Neimann should be accused, if there is not then Neimann has a right to be exonerated. What ever happened to "innocent until proven guilty"? The chess world, thanks to the suck who is a former world champion, having decided not to defend, is declaring Niemann "guilty until Magnus (the suck) declares him innocent." This is outrageous, but of course par for the course in the world of chess.

[Fred Harvey]

We're not sure why you are taking such a strong line over this?

Because Neimann is being tossed under the bus as an explanation for Magnus' conduct. This is not at all fair unless there IS something to the allegations that he cheated. If there IS then Neimann should be accused, if there is not then Neimann has a right to be exonerated. What ever happened to "innocent until proven guilty"? The chess world, thanks to the suck who is a former world champion, having decided not to defend, is declaring Niemann "guilty until Magnus (the suck) declares him innocent." This is outrageous, but of course par for the course in the world of chess.

Well...O.K. But consider what options Magnus has. To withdraw from a tournament suggests he has very strong opinions about something.....but possibly unprovable. So best to just walk away quietly, and stay out of the cheating fracas?

[Mario Moran-Venegas]

If I was in Magnus' shoes I would act as he is doing.
If there was an accusation of cheating brought to the Arbiter personnel it must remain secret till more checking is done.
If I was Hans Niemann , my comments on the analysis would be exactly as inaccurate and vague as not to give out any of my preparation.
The statement should come from the organizers of the tournament with a date for a future statement on the matter.

A small sentence needs to be added : Magnus' behavior as far as a cheating complaint is correct.
What is not correct was the tweet that hinted at cheating..
I strongly disagree with chess.com's actions banning Mr. Niemann .
I strongly disagree with Nakamura statements regarding Mr. Niemann cheating online when he was 16 years old.

[Brad Thomson]

Well...O.K. But consider what options Magnus has. To withdraw from a tournament suggests he has very strong opinions about something.....but possibly unprovable. So best to just walk away quietly, and stay out of the cheating fracas?

You may be right, if Magnus believes his opponent cheated but he cannot prove it then staying quiet would make sense. But withdrawing from the tournament is not keeping silent, he should simply have played on. If Niemann is innocent then this is profoundly unfair. Good riddance to Magnus, he is a bad personality.

[Neil Frarey]

You may be right, if Magnus believes his opponent cheated but he cannot prove it then staying quiet would make sense. But withdrawing from the tournament is not keeping silent, he should simply have played on. If Niemann is innocent then this is profoundly unfair. Good riddance to Magnus, he is a bad personality.

He did! And then, he took it down, ha!

It was up just long enough for a couple of chess influencers to grab his statement ...

Martin B. Justesen ... https://twitter.com/saychess1/status...cbqPgjLseNJlHg

Susan Polar ... https://twitter.com/SusanPolgar/stat...cbqPgjLseNJlHg

[David Ottosen]

You may be right, if Magnus believes his opponent cheated but he cannot prove it then staying quiet would make sense. But withdrawing from the tournament is not keeping silent, he should simply have played on. If Niemann is innocent then this is profoundly unfair. Good riddance to Magnus, he is a bad personality.

You seem to be very objective about Carlsen.

I have no problems with what he did; if he in his heart of heart believes, but can't prove cheating, then he risks a lot legally/financially by making that accusation. It doesn't mean he has to be "fair" (whatever that means) if he truly believes the guy is cheating him, and I have little doubt that the instant withdrawal was in part to harm Niemann's chances of winning (by removing the full point he got against Carlsen). You can call it petty, some would call it just. It all comes down to how much you believe Niemann.

[Brad Thomson]

It all comes down to how much you believe Niemann.

Without any explanations we do not know what to believe, thus to toss someone under the bus is unjust and premature. Given the vast anti-cheating protocols that are in effect the most rational and logical explanation (though we cannot be certain either way) is that Magnus has totally sucked out after losing a game. The fact that he has already resigned his world championship title adds corroboration to this possibility. Magnus has always been a sore loser and he is getting worse. I do not understand why so many persons have wanted to crawl all over Niemann without any evidence at all to suggest guilt in circumstances that are so heavily policed that guilt is almost impossible.