11 Comments

Nate writes, 'While he admitted to cheating online, the question of whether Niemann cheated in that game against Carlsen, or in other OTB games, is also completely open. ' I disagree. Until Carlsen or his business partners come up with evidence for their claims, the matter in nearly completely closed.

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Seems yesterday Niemman has added some new accusations on his lawsuit...if they are true it won't be easier for Carlsen"s team to solve. the puzzle...

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In my opinion online and OTB chess should be viewed and penalized separately, as cheating online is much different than cheating OTB, simply for the fact that it is much harder to do so OTB. Either way, I believe harsher penalties should be considered when dealing with cheating in chess, such as lifetime bans from tournaments, or multi year bans. As technological advances in chess computers have removed a layer of trust, always having that thought in the back of your mind that your opponent on chess.com or lichess is using stockfish, may hinder your own quality of play.

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As much as I'd love to give Carlsen the benefit of the doubt, I think it speaks volumes that he isn't refusing to play against Maghsoodloo at Tata Steel. That shows that he's not taking some sort of principled stance here. I wonder if Maghsoodloo will pass his vibe check when they play.

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Think there are two elephants in the room.This cheating scandal also involves Carlsen"s lack of professionalism. A professional player should not abandon a high level tournament without substantial proofs on the issue.Is Magnus going to be sanctioned for false accusations in due case?.May be a 100 million dollar priced elephant to deal with.

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You mentioned Fabi's podcast. You might find it interesting to listen to the other podcast where he showed some OTB games of Niemann's - and what he says about the worth of Ken Regan's assessments in this case.

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