Judge Tosses Hans Niemann’s $100 Million Lawsuit Over Chess Cheating Claims

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American chess grandmaster Hans Moke Niemann’s $100 million lawsuit against Magnus Carlsen—a former world champion widely considered one of the greatest players of all-time—along with other big chess figures and Chess.com over allegations they tried to blacklist Niemann after he cheated was dismissed by a federal judge Tuesday, putting an end to the months-long suit.

American chess grandmaster Hans Moke Niemann’s $100 million lawsuit alleging antitrust violations … [+] and defamation against Magnus Carlsen—a former world champion widely considered one of the greatest players of all-time—was dismissed by a federal judge Tuesday, putting an end to the months-long suit. (Photo by Tim Vizer / AFP)

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Key Facts

In the suit, Niemann alleged that Carlsen falsely accused Niemann of cheating after he defeated Carlsen—the highest-ranked chess player in history—and then defamed Niemann and tried to exclude him from professional chess competitions.

Carlsen’s lawyers motioned to dismiss the case in December, arguing Niemann spent years “trying to curate a reputation as the bad boy of chess” and “now wants to cash in by blaming others” after the allegations derailed his chess career; they also said Niemann did nothing to disprove the cheating allegations.

Judge Audrey Fleissig determined Niemann failed to prove his antitrust claim that the defendants made a concerted attempt to blacklist him from the chess market and dismissed Niemann’s antitrust claims with prejudice, meaning they can’t be brought before a court again. The judge declined jurisdiction over his other claims, including that Carlsen and others had defamed Niemann.

Crucial Quote

“We are pleased the Court has rejected Hans Niemann’s attempt to recover an undeserved windfall in Missouri federal court, and that Niemann’s attempt to chill speech through strategic litigation in that forum has failed,” said Craig Reiser, lead defense counsel to Carlsen, in a statement to Forbes.

Key Background

Rumors that Niemann was cheating in professional chess peaked on September 19, 2022 after Carlsen resigned from a rematch with Niemann after just one move after hinting Niemann may have cheated in another game between the two earlier in the month that Niemann won. Carlsen said Niemann, who was 19 at the time and the lowest-ranked player at the tournament, “wasn’t tense or even fully concentrating on the game” during crucial moments in his win, but didn’t give information on how he suspected Niemann cheated. Niemann acknowledged he had cheated during some matches when he was younger before ceasing as his career flourished, but a report from Chess.com after Carlsen’s resignation contradicted that and determined Niemann “likely cheated” more than 100 times in online chess matches. The report suggested he could have been using a “chess engine,” or program to determine the best move, while playing. Chess.com had previously banned Niemann in 2020 after he privately admitted cheating during games where money was at stake, according to the Wall Street Journal.

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