Hans Niemann is having a great run at the Turkish League 2024 event. However, the event’s organizers have implemented stricter anti-cheating measures specifically for the players mid-tournament.
Niemann has been a controversial figure in the chess world following his 2022 cheating allegations from the top player in the world at the time, Magnus Carleson.
The American player has continued to stay in the spotlight in one way or another, through online spats with other players, Elon Musk, and from continuing to rise through the international chess rankings by stomping his opponents.
The newest controversy involving Niemann concerns his participation in the Türkiye İş Bankası 100th Anniversary Super League. So far, the American has 9.5/13 points at the team event, winning seven games, losing one, and drawing five.
After defeating Chinese Grandmaster Yu Yangyi on July 21, the tournament organizer, the Turkish Chess Federation, implemented anti-cheating measures for Niemann’s future matches, according to a commentator on the broadcast.
The part of the stream quoted is about 2 hours and 16 seconds into the broadcast.
“Hans Niemann’s board is not translating because the Turkish Chess Federation is implementing anti-cheating measures,” IM Kamal Aghasiyev said on July 24.
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Aghasiyev later said anti-cheating measures are in place for multiple players.
Since his win against Yangyi, Niemann’s game has not been shown via the venue’s video feed or showcased on the analysis board by the commentator. His matches were also delayed on websites like Chess.com, which showcase just the moves on the board.
The American was still situated with his team and shown on camera, but his board was cut off from view. The event has teams of six players competing simultaneously, and only a few boards from each team are shown via the event’s live feed.
The change in the broadcast’s coverage of Niemann was first spotted on Reddit.
The Turkish Chess Federation has not launched any formal accusations against Niemann at the time of writing. The organization has not posted anything about the anti-cheating measures on social media.
Niemann has also not commented on the situation at the time of writing.
