Chess Grandmaster Hans Niemann Gets Thorough Body Scan Following ‘Anal Beads’ Cheating Accusations

Chess player Hans Niemann, who has been accused of cheating in online games, and of a bizarre unverified rumor that he used vibrating anal beads to beat Magnus Carlsen recently, clearly got a little extra attention to be able to compete at the U.S. Chess Championship in St. Louis.

A video of some of the chess players entering the tournament made the rounds, because Niemann was asked to turn around for a full body scan while the two people before him were not.

Niemann has responded to these accusations saying that he has only cheated on two occasions in online games when he was 12 and 16, but a Chess.com report alleged that he may have received assistance in more than 100 online games. It was inconclusive as to whether Niemann cheated in over-the-board games, however.

This began when Carlsen abruptly dropped out of the Sinquefield Cup tournament after being beaten by Niemann. He was initially tight-lipped to the reason, but eventually released a response accusing his opponent of cheating.

“His over the board progress has been unusual,” Carlsen said in part. “And throughout our game in the Sinquefield Cup I had the impression that he wasn’t tense or even fully concentrating on the game in critical positions, while outplaying me as black in a way I think only a handful of players can do.”

Following the scrutiny, Niemann seems to be trying to keep his head in the game, and briefly addressed the rumors after winning his opening match.

“I think that this game spoke for itself and showed the chess player that I am. And it also showed that I’m not going to back down, and I’m going to play my best chess here despite the pressure that I’m under,” Niemann said.

He then cut his interviewer off after his answer, adding he didn’t want to speak more, “Because it was such a beautiful game, I don’t even need to describe it.”