At some point Elon Musk also got involved in this modern chess drama, but by then it was all too late anyway. The internet was already speculating about vibrating sex toys that could win big games, and the multi-billionaire also enjoyed the theory. And then quoted Schopenhauer to describe the whole thing clearly.
Yes, The Game of Kings is a lot of tabloid stuff these days, and it’s all gotten a bit confusing. In essence, however, it is about the biggest chess scandal in years. The focus is on Magnus Carlsen and a young challenger, the American Hans Niemann. This feud went into the next round on Monday: The two met again in a top-class online tournament – and after just one move, Carlsen ended the game without comment, apparently in protest.
“Shocking and disturbing,” said Maurice Ashley, US Grandmaster. International champion Jovanka Houska even accused Carlsen of provoking a “witch hunt”. It all started at the beginning of September with a rare defeat for the world champion from Norway. Carlsen unexpectedly lost in St. Louis to Niemann, 19 years old, wild curls, a climber and crosshead of the scene.
Niemann is a 19-year-old rising star with wild curls, a crosshead on the chess scene
“It must be embarrassing for the world champion to lose to an idiot like me,” said Niemann after the game, “I feel sorry for him.” Embarrassing or not, Carlsen withdrew from the tournament shortly thereafter, almost without a word. He succinctly announced this via Twitter, only providing a short video of a famous interview with football coach Jose Mourinho: “I prefer not to say anything. If I say something, I’ll get in big trouble and I don’t want to get in big trouble devices.”
Carlsen has not publicly mentioned the word fraud to this day, but there is now a lot of talk about Niemann and possible fraud. These speculations are particularly fruitful because the American cheated in virtual tournaments at the age of 16 and admits it. The organizers in St. Louis, however, adhered to all guidelines and tested each participant thoroughly. There are no indications of an offense by Niemann.
Here, however, the worldwide chess community took over. For example, Eric Hansen, Grandmaster from Canada, spoke publicly about the possibility of using anal beads to receive vibration signals in order to plan the next moves – the topic then developed a certain momentum of its own. Elon Musk also modified a quote from the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer with great amusement via Twitter: “Talent hits a target that nobody else can hit. Genius hits a target that nobody else can see (because it’s in your butt). “
He later deleted the tweet, but Niemann has long been forced to defend himself. “If I’m supposed to strip completely naked, then I’ll do it,” he said last, “I know I’m clean.” By the way, the online tournament runs until the end of the week. Carlsen and Niemann continue to participate.