Niemann vs. Carlsen, Part 2
This is not good for anyone.
We’ll get to the Julius Baer Generation Cup, as a proper tournament in its own right, but today’s farce merits its own post. As I mentioned in my post previewing the tournament, the first showdown between Hans Niemann and Magnus Carlsen since their game in the Sinquefield Cup was scheduled for today (Monday). Would Carlsen come out guns blazing, or would he treat it as a normal game?
None of the above. Here’s how it went. Ready? 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 1-0. Carlsen played one move, then resigned, shut off his camera, and that was the end of that. (He returned for the next round, and overall is doing well in the tournament.) Carlsen said nothing to do the media, as far as I know, and neither did Niemann.
So, what is going to happen if Niemann and Carlsen both qualify for the knockout stage, as seems likely, and are paired? Is Carlsen going to do the same thing for three straight games and call it quits? We’ll see.
But really, what is this? There is no empirical evidence that Niemann cheated, nor testimonial evidence, nor evidence from computer testing. If Carlsen has some evidence that no one else knows about, he should produce it. Otherwise, it’s time to be reconciled to the loss in St. Louis and look for revenge on the chess board. Carlsen looks bad, like a sore loser and a poor sport who is leaving egg on his last two tournament sponsors’ faces. Niemann, assuming his innocence, must suffer under a dark cloud of suspicion indefinitely. Sponsors will feel like they must choose between Carlsen and Niemann, and given that choice it’s going to be Niemann who finds himself without many top invitations, at least until and unless his rating nears 2800. And chess looks ridiculous, with talk of cheating and anal beads appearing in mainstream media sources. (Here and here, for instance. [HT: Ervin Middleton])
So much has gone well for chess over the last couple of years, but between Carlsen’s abandoning his championship title and now this we’re going to lose our momentum.
I continue to think that Carlsen's behaviour is strong evidence that something is amiss, though it's quite possible that (for one of many possible reasons) Carlsen does not have evidence that he feels he can make public. This is mainly just because I attach high credence to the counterfactual that if something was not seriously amiss, Carlsen would not behave as he has behaved. For some evidence that there's no smoke without fire, but still a long way from public evidence, see Aronian's recent cagey interview in which he says he understands Magnus' frustration: https://youtu.be/8JmZJC4Ltqs
Carlsen's behavior, since and including his refusal to defend his title, has become an embarrassment. Furthermore, his actions are having a negative effect not only on chess in general and Niemann in particular (whom IM Regan has pretty conclusively vindicated in St Louis), but potentially other players as well, for whom his non-game could alter their standing in the tournament. While Carlsen is, for now, world champion, and will, at least for the foreseeable future, retain the top spot in the ranking, nevertheless, if he cannot control his petty and self-important behavior, perhaps he should retire from chess.