Hikaru Nakamura shared his opinion on the cheating scandal surrounding Hans Moke Niemann. Nakamura claims the scandal brought Hans popularity, pointing out that without it, people outside the chess world would not know about Niemann, citing Javokhir Sindarov, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Jorden van Foreest, Vincent Keymer, and Nihal Sarin as examples.

Hikaru Nakamura

Hikaru Nakamura

World No. 2, streamer

“I’ve always been slightly amused by how Hans continues to push this narrative that it’s all supposedly greatly harmed him. In reality, it’s greatly helped him. His name became incredibly well-known. Many people outside the chess world now know who he is.

So, the idea that it supposedly caused him damage or destroyed his life — it’s just insane. What actually happened is simply that his name became much more popular. If this hadn’t happened, he would just be another 2700 grandmaster that nobody has ever heard of.

Here’s an example — a player who is much stronger than Hans but is not a famous name: Javokhir Sindarov. If you ask on the street who Sindarov is, no one will have the slightest idea, unless you are deeply immersed in the chess community.

If you open the rating list, you can see players like Duda — another excellent chess player, stronger than Hans, whom most people have never heard of. Jorden, Keymer, Sarin — most people don’t know these names either. I’m not saying they are all necessarily stronger than Hans, but you get the point.

So, all this complaint seems rather strange.”

American GM Hans Moke Niemann (2735) cheating accusation was a major 2022 scandal where Magnus Carlsen accused Hans of cheating after Niemann defeated him in an over-the-board game. In October 2022, Chess.com released a 72-page report stating that “Niemann has likely cheated in more than 100 online chess games”. To this day, no evidence of over-the-board or in-person cheating has been recorded.

Credit: Roza Czarnota / Norway Chess