So Magnus did an interview where he said he couldn't speak. Chessdotcom CEO said he also cannot speak so clearly there is something legal in the background now. But Magnus dropped a massive hint. So there is now no mystery really.
If they stop your ability to speak, you MIGHT be putting them in the wrong hole, but to each their own.
It's not speech so much as low guttural noises interspersed with Riley Reid level squealing. I've heard.
That guy looks a bit young to be contending for a world title... what happened to Karpov and Kasparov? Am I that old?
Magnus is the current champion who has all but retired from defending his title. He has hinted he would defend his title if certain players made it to the top. Kasparov became champ at 22. Also, yes you are old, just like everyone else on here.
Carlson is still completely active on the tour - he just doesn't want to play any more title matches in the dumb format they use. I completely get it. The sport has moved on since then.
Chess is simply not a sport. 1. Being "pro" is not definitive. Anything one does for money is "pro," but not everything is a sport. 2. "e-sports" are not sports. Note, I will lose both of these comments in an argument and I don't care.
Having listened to some streams from Hikaru, Lev Aronian and Eric Hansen, it's pretty clear a group of elite players believe Hans is/was cheating. Aronian pointed out that it's not that hard to stop the cheating, at least as far as the big money tour goes. Aronian is a pretty level headed guy, so I think it's obvious he knows what has happened and thinks there is fire to that smoke. Hikaru explained how a superGM would only need to cheat for 1 or 2 moves in a game, so computer algo probably can't spot that. You need a combo of engine and superGM analysis to develop a case. Hansen explained the Carlson hint. Han's trainer was booted off Chessdotcom for cheating in a tournament where he raced to 8/8 against strong GM opposition playing engine level moves. The fact that both Hans and his trainer were booted off Chessdotcom for cheating seems bad
{Ismitje has a very busy couple of days, doesn't check the forum for about 48 hours, and finds a most unexpected thread title in his unread list.}
You don't get to keep your crown if you don't defend it every so often, do you? Is he now dodging players who want to take him on?
Is this like a couple of years ago when champion darts players were accusing each other of farting to throw the opponent off? The headline "Professional Dart World Rocked By Explosive Fart Allegations" remains a favorite here at Casa Ismitje.
What happened is that the World Championship match is a particularly gruelling format of classic chess. It's not as bad as the old days of Karpov vs Kasparov, but it is still a lot, and not interesting compared to the innovation that is going on in the tour these days. Carlson already said when he beat Nepo in a blowout in '21 that he would likely not defend his title unless it was versus the young star Alireza - then Nepo won the challengers again so basically he declined - having already easily defeated Nepo before. One of the problems with the format is the challenger tournament which decides who plays the world champion is much more interesting than the actual world championship match
The alleged chess cheater just crushed one of the world's best players, a super grandmaster, in just 20 moves. He is either a irredeemable cheater who will do so even while the world is watching, or he's actually a damn good player.