- A chess grandmaster has been the victim of an online rumor that he defeated the world champion with a sex toy.
- Hans Niemann, 19, defeated Magnus Carlsen in a stunning riot earlier this month, sparking unfounded cheating rumours.
- The pair are set to meet again in an online tournament on Monday.
American chess grandmaster Hans Niemann has become the subject of a bizarre online rumor that he defeated Norwegian world champion Magnus Carlsen with a sex toy.
Unfounded rumors have circulated online suggesting that Niemann may have used wireless anal beads that vibrated to signal what moves to make.
19-year-old Niemann defeated Carlsen in a surprise upset on September 4 in the Sinquefield Cup. He ended Carlsen’s 53-game unbeaten streak despite starting the tournament as the lowest-rated player.
Carlsen sparked speculation when he withdrew from the tournament the following day and tweeted a cryptic video of Portuguese football manager José Mourinho saying: “I really prefer not to speak. If I speak, I’m in big trouble.”
Many observers, including American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, interpreted Carlsen’s message as indicating that Niemann had cheated during the tournament.
Niemann later admitted to cheating in online tournaments when he was 12 and 16, but said he has since improved and vehemently denied cheating on Carlsen.
“If they want me to strip completely naked, I will. I do not care. Because I know I’m clean,” Niemann said in one interview after his win. “You want me to play in a closed box with no electronic transmission? I don’t care. I’m here to win and that’s still my goal.”
He also fired back at Nakamura Twitterwho accuses him of “frivolous insinuations”.
The Sinquefield Cup head umpire later published a expression That is, there was “no indication that any player played unfairly” in the tournament.
Despite this clarification, and with no evidence that Niemann used anal beads or any other method of cheating, speculation continued on the internet.
The anal beads theory went viral on social media
Rumors circulated on social media that Niemann may have used anal beads to cheat.
A Reddit post on r/Chess, which was removed, detailed theories about Niemann’s use of anal beads.
Despite the post’s tongue-in-cheek tone (“He’s always had anal beads up his butt, maybe for the last ten years,” it said), the theory was gaining momentum online.
Canadian grandmasters Eric Hansen and Aman Hambleton discussed the theory of anal beads during a Twitch live streamand Tesla CEO Elon Musk posted a since deleted tweet joke about it.
—Babble (@Babble____) September 7, 2022
In what will no doubt be a closely watched tournament, Carlsen and Niemann will once again meet in the Julius Baer Generation Cup, with the pair said to go head-to-head on Monday chess game.
Comments are closed.