Credit: X
The American GM Hans Niemann has been banned by the Saint Louis Chess Club from participating in any of the invitational tournaments organised by them throughout 2024. The premier chess facility in the United States of America took the “difficult decision” following the “inappropriate behaviour” from the 20-year-old in regards to damaging private property, making rude comments, and being uncooperative.
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Hans Niemann has been no stranger to controversy during his young chess career, getting tacitly accused by the former World Champion Magnus Carlsen of cheating in games. Following a loss to the American in the 2022 Sinquefield Cup, Magnus Carlsen withdrew from the tournament, and later implying that his opponent cheated, and he won’t be playing against him anymore.
The statement from the Saint Louis Chess Club about Hans Niemann read, “After consideration of recent events, the Saint Louis Chess Club has made the difficult decision not to extend an invitation to GM Hans Niemann to participate in any invitational tournaments organized by the club in 2024.”
“This decision was based on GM Hans Niemann’s demonstrated inappropriate behaviour including damaging private property, rude comments, and an uncooperative attitude failing to fulfill contractual obligations. This decision was not made lightly and we hope this serves as an opportunity for GM Hans Niemann to experience personal reflection and growth. We will reevaluate this determination for events in future years, assuming notable progress is achieved,” the statement concluded.
In response, Hans Niemann released a post on his official X account, accompanied by his video, wherein he admitted to unfortunately causing some damage in his hotel room, but at the same time, he vehemently denied all other charges from the Saint Louis Chess Club.
