Perpetual Chess Linkfest #7, September 30, 2022
The Carlsen/Niemann saga drags on, but there is always room for another chess controversy!
Hi again everyone and welcome back to the Link-Fest. After a hectic period of chess and drama, the chess news flow slowed down a bit this week. There were few top-level tournaments, and the only major news in the Carlsen/Niemann story was that GM Magnus Carlsen issued a statement on Monday confirming that he suspects GM Hans Niemann of repeated cheating. Despite the quiet week, there is a feeling that more news will be forthcoming, and that this pause merely affords us an opportunity to sharpen our pitchforks. Just kidding, we should all try to not to jump to conclusions!
In other news, the chess world saw another unfortunate, if familiar controversy, as a GM chess announcer made some sexist comments while covering the Astana Women’s Grand Prix. Anyway, on to the links:
Carlsen/Niemann Controversy
Magnus finally issued a statement. “I believe that Hans Niemann cheated more, and more recently then he has publicly admitted.” (Magnus Carlsen’s Statement) (CNN Story by Matt Foster)
“But the resultant pile-on, with a crowdsourced mob cryptically joined by the most powerful man in chess, has left many in the normally staid world of chess feeling uneasy” (Oliver Roeder for the Financial Times)
Emails leaked from Chess.com show that GM Maxim Dlugy (who has worked with Niemann in the past) admitted to cheating on their site. (Motherboard article by Jason Koepfler)
FIDE will investigate both Carlsen and Niemann. “The focus of the investigation would be twofold: checking Magnus Carlsen's claim of alleged cheating by Hans Niemann and the latter's own statement regarding online cheating, FIDE says.” (Chess24 Article by Tarjei Svenson)
Erik Allebest, CEO of Chess.com posted on Reddit that more information will be forthcoming from his company about GM Hans Niemann. “What is coming is a full, honest, raw conversation with a complete timeline and investigation of what all the inputs and outputs were.” ( Chess Reddit)
Even the famed satirical newspaper, The Onion, is covering the story! (Niemann Cheating Scandal Spirals Out Of Control As Magnus Carlsen’s Rook Found Dead)
I am trying not to “self-link” too often, but I thought this week’s Perpetual Chess Podcast discussing the scandal with GMs Jonathan Rowson and David Smerdon was particularly measured and insightful. (Available via Spotify or YouTube, short excerpt from GM Smerdon here)
Short Kasparov video interview- “Magnus Carlsen’s behavior was unacceptable” (Uppsala Chess Academy YouTube)
A poker cheating scandal has echoes of the Carlsen/Niemann story (High Stakes DB article by Mark Patrickson)
Katerina Lagno Wins Astana Women’s Grand Prix
Congrats to Katerina Lagno on winning the first leg of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix (Peter Doggers for Chess.com)
Unfortunately, the event was a bit marred by GM Ilya Smirin’s Sexist Comments. He was subsequently replaced as commentator. (Francesca Gillet for BBC News)
Chess Improvement/Misc.
A data driven dive, how Long Does it Take to Get Good? (LiChess Blog)
FM Nate Solon thinks that I Own Too Many Chess Books (and my wife agrees!) (Zwischenzug Blog)
GM Gregory Serper writes, How Would Fischer do in the Modern Age? (Chess.com Blog)
GM Avetik Grigoryan on How “Ostrich Syndrome” can Prevent Chess Improvement (LiChess Blog)
Richard James reviews IM Cyrus Lakdawala’s The Greatest Attacker in Chess (British Chess News)
Renowned Seven Deadly Chess Sins Author, GM Jonathan Rowson has launched a Substack Blog! (GM Jonathan Rowson)
Thanks for reading everyone! Please remember to share/subscribe if you are enjoying these posts- Ben