Russian GM Aleksandr Shimanov spoke about Hans Niemann in an interview on a Russian-language YouTube channel. Shimanov notes Niemann’s contribution to the rise of chess and criticizes him for collaborating with Vladimir Kramnik.

Aleksandr Shimanov

Aleksandr Shimanov

Russian GM

“Hans Niemann is generally a very specific character… I have rather negative feelings toward him at the moment.

To be clear, in terms of the hype he brought to the chess world, I like Hans. Overall, he definitely deserves credit for not giving up when the going was tough. In that regard, I respect him.

But on a purely personal level — I can’t say that I like him very much. And then there’s the fact that Hans chose Kramnik as his mentor… After that, he’s just a clown to me, so to speak.

That moment with Kramnik is quite telling. Especially for a person who says: ‘Carlsen and Hikaru attacked me and accused me!’ And then we see this kind of collaboration… It’s very strange to me.”

The 14th World Champion Vladimir Kramnik has been the mentor and coach of Hans Niemann since early 2025. Vladimir faced harassment following the passing of Daniel in October 2025. Kramnik had previously publicly suspected Naroditsky, Navarra and other prominent players of cheating.

American GM Hans Moke Niemann (2725) cheating accusation was a major 2022 scandal where Magnus Carlsen accused Hans of cheating after Niemann defeated him in an over-the-board game. To this day, no evidence of over-the-board or in-person cheating has been recorded.

Credit: Chess.com