Controversial chess star Hans Niemann is accusing chess.com of being biased, arguing the platform can’t be trusted after its latest disciplinary decision against Vladimir Kramnik.
On December 11, GM Vladimir Kramnik was banned from competing in chess.com events after he continued to accuse opponents of cheating, despite being warned not to make allegations on social media.
While Kramnik got a lawyer involved in the six-month ban and threatened legal action, another playing is coming to his aid: Hans Niemann.
Niemann is no stranger to drama in the chess world, having been accused of cheating in over-the-board tournaments to beat Magnus Carlsen – a claim that was never proven.
However, emails showed that Niemann had cheated in chess.com matches at some point, eventually leading him to file a $100M defamation lawsuit against Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, and Chess.com over the cheating allegations.
While the suit was settled, it’s clear there’s still plenty of bad blood between Niemann and the site and Hans doesn’t believe that the platform is capable of being fair.
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Hans Niemann accuses chess.com of not being “loyal” to the game of chess
In a pointed message in response to chess.com’s decision to ban Kramnik, Niemann took issue with GM Hikaru accusing others of cheating while never suffering any consequences.
“When all of Chesscom’s streamers engaged in an all out defamation blitz against me, they fanned the flames. I’ve lost track of how many people Hikaru has maliciously accused, including a young Erigaisi and Tang,” he blasted.
When all of Chesscom's streamers engaged in an all out defamation blitz against me, they fanned the flames. I've lost track of how many people Hikaru has maliciously accused, including a young Erigaisi and Tang. We cannot trust a FOR PROFIT business to act fairly as a regulatory… https://t.co/VmruH7xoUP
— Hans Niemann (@HansMokeNiemann) December 11, 2024
Nakamura had reportedly once threatened to track down a young 14-year-old Andrew Tang – who would go on to become a Grandmaster – after he had scored 20% against him in a match.
“We cannot trust a FOR PROFIT business to act fairly as a regulatory body,” Niemann continued. “They have proven time and time again, that their loyalty lies with their ‘ambassadors,’ not with the game of chess.”
So far, chess.com hasn’t responded to Niemann’s claims, but given all the drama that’s unfolded between him and the site in the past, it’s unlikely that this feud will end anytime soon.
