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Notes -
Chesscom has put out a statement today where they said they presented Hans with evidence that he downplayed the extent and seriousness of his cheating on their site, and are waiting for him to respond before they make a decision about whether or not to let him play on their site again. My impression is that we are just getting trickle-truthed by all parties and should wait and see what else comes out, probably after the Sinquefield Cup ends. There are probably contractual obligations restricting Chesscom and Magnus from making statements, and Magnus seems quite unbothered by the whole thing. This is not the first time a younger GM has defeated him, but it is the first time he's made an issue about it, which is notable in itself.
Hans is a distinctly unsympathetic figure because he's leaned into this whole vibe of being an enfant terrible, even though it really just comes off as him being a cunt and retreating to "I'm just a widdle boy, please" when someone calls him out on it. Even if he didn't cheat, I don't find it surprising that so many GMs were willing to believe the worst of him. There are probably 10 or 12 young prodigies I would have highlighted as potential WC material before I ever got to Hans Niemann.
Alternatively, the players who accused Hans are the ones who actually still play competitive chess, and Kasparov, Karpov et al have not played competitive chess for years.
While noting that some of these theories were clearly jokes and not meant to be taken seriously, like Eric Hansen's suggestion that Hans implanted anal beads in his rectum that vibrated in Morse code, hidden bathroom devices are hardly an implausible method of cheating. People have actually been caught and banned for doing this.
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