Shortly after his first move, world champion Magnus Carlsen dropped out of an online chess match against fellow grandmaster Hans Niemann on Monday.
The pair were playing in the Julius Baer Generation Cup when Carlsen turned off his screen and left the match without explanation – the latest twist in an apparent feud between the two players.
“We’ll try to get an update on that,” commentator Tania Sachdev said in a live broadcast of the match on chess24. “Magnus Carlsen just resigned – he got up and left, turned off his camera and that’s all we know right now.”
CNN reached out to Carlsen’s representatives for comment, but did not hear back.
Earlier this month, the Norwegian pulled out of the Sinquefield Cup in Saint Louis after his shock loss to American star Niemann – the first time he has pulled out of a tournament in his career, according to chess24.
Carlsen confirmed his withdrawal on Twitter, posting: “I have withdrawn from the tournament. I’ve always enjoyed playing at @STLchessClub and hope to return in the future.” Carlsen’s tweet also included a well-known video of football manager Jose Mourinho saying: “If I talk, I’m in big trouble.”
Another grandmaster, Hikaru Nakamura, said that Carlsen is “suspicious” of Niemann’s behavior, and a few days after the Sinquefield Cup match, Niemann publicly responded to allegations that he had cheated earlier in his chess career.
The 19-year-old admitted to cheating at ages 12 and 16, but said in an interview with the Chess Club of St. Louis that he had never cheated in games over the table.
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“I’m telling my truth because I don’t want any misrepresentation,” Niemann said. “I am proud of myself that I learned from this mistake and now I have given everything to chess. I have sacrificed everything for chess.”
The tension between Niemann and Carlsen has shocked the chess community. Niemann said he had been removed from the popular Chess.com website after Carlsen’s tweet and that “all of social media and the chess world are completely attacking me and undermining me.”
“To see my absolute hero (Carlsen) try to target, try to destroy my reputation, destroy my chess career and do it in such a casual way is really, really disappointing,” he added.
Neither Niemann nor Chess.com responded to CNN’s request for comment.
In a statement on September 8, Chess.com Chief Chess Officer Danny Rensch said the site had “shared detailed information with [Niemann] about our decision, including information that contradicts his statements about the size and seriousness of his fraud.”
Rence continued, “We have called on Hans to provide an explanation and respond in hopes of finding a solution where Hans can once again participate on Chess.com.”
Carlsen and Niemann played two more games against other opponents after the former’s sudden withdrawal on Monday. Carlsen is two points behind leader Arjun Erigaisi in the tournament standings after eight rounds, while Niemann is four points back.
“It looks like he (Carlsen) is clearly implying something, but until you catch someone, you can’t do anything,” Anish Giri, who is also competing in the Julius Baer Generation Cup, told chess24.
“It seems very strange to me now. Of course, it all makes sense if, supposedly, Hans is cheating and doesn’t want to play him, but if he’s not (he’s cheating), then it’s really, really wrong.
“So I don’t know, we’ll have to see. Again, everyone’s expecting some kind of big rabbit out of the hat with Magnus, but he just doesn’t want to play Hans, it seems.”
Levon Aronian, who is also participating in the tournament, said Niemann “wasn’t the cleanest person when it comes to online chess,” but added that “this is a problem that needs a solution.”
