Hikaru Nakamura and Magnus Carlsen answered the question of whether Magnus would be Hikaru’s second at the Candidates Tournament. Nakamura said it could happen if he were preparing for a match against Hans Moke Nimman:

Hikaru Nakamura

Hikaru Nakamura

World No. 2, streamer

“Would Magnus coach me at the Candidates? I don’t think so. And I think there would have to be something bigger than money or something.

I think if I were playing with someone who Magnus really dislikes — there might be a certain American player — then I think Magnus might do it for a certain amount of money. But just for Gukesh, I’m not really seeing it.”

Magnus explained that he is not ready to take on coaching due to his lack of experience in the field:

Magnus Carlsen

Magnus Carlsen

World No. 1

“I honestly don’t think I would be very useful since I have zero experience in coaching or anything like that.

If I were to offer my services for any amount of money, I would recommend that Hikaru sticks with his team, because he has a very-very good one, and I don’t think I’d improve it.”

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. 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: Lennart Ootes