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Hans Niemann
Hans Moke Niemann (born June 20, 2003) is an American chess grandmaster and Twitch streamer. He first entered the top 100 junior players list on March 1, 2019, and became a FIDE grandmaster on January 22, 2021. In July 2021, he won the World Open chess tournament in Philadelphia. He achieved a peak global ranking of No. 12 in May 2026.
In September 2022, Niemann became embroiled in a controversy after defeating reigning World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen in the third round of the 2022 Sinquefield Cup. As a result, Carlsen withdrew from the tournament, which many interpreted as an accusation that Niemann had cheated during the match. Later, Carlsen directly accused Niemann of cheating and said that he would decline future pairings with him. In a later interview, Niemann admitted to cheating in online chess games when younger at the age of 12 and 16, but denied cheating in over-the-board games.
Niemann was removed from the Chess.com global championship and was also banned from playing on Chess.com in any way. Chess.com published a report noting over 100 games on the site in which Niemann had "likely cheated" according to an internal anti-cheating measure. In response, Niemann filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against Carlsen, Chess.com, and fellow grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura. On June 27, 2023, a federal judge dismissed one of Niemann's claims. On August 28, 2023, Niemann, Carlsen, and Chess.com announced that they had reached an agreement over the matter, in which Niemann was fully reinstated on Chess.com and permitted to participate in future Chess.com events. Carlsen agreed to play him if they matched up, and all parties agreed not to pursue further legal action.
Niemann was born in San Francisco, California, and is of mixed Hawaiian and Danish ancestry. He moved to the Netherlands at the age of seven, where he attended a Leonardoschool for the gifted and started playing chess. He eventually returned to the United States, attending schools in Orinda, California, and Weston, Connecticut, before finally attending Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School in New York City for his junior and senior years of high school. He then became financially independent while working as a chess teacher to support himself.
Niemann attended the U.S. Chess School alongside future grandmasters Andrew Tang, Abhimanyu Mishra, Awonder Liang, Christopher Yoo, and David Brodsky—as well as future U.S. Women's Chess Champion Carissa Yip. While there, he received training from grandmasters Joshua Friedel, Ben Finegold and Jacob Aagaard. He also received training from international master John Grefe, whom he considers his "first serious chess coach."
In 2012,[citation needed] Niemann qualified for the Dutch National Youth Chess Championship. Later, in December, he participated in his first rated tournament in the U.S. In 2013, he participated in the SuperNationals V in Nashville with a rating of 1486, scoring 4/7.
On December 16, 2014, Niemann became the youngest-ever winner of the Tuesday Night Marathon at the Mechanics' Institute Chess Club, the oldest chess club in the United States, earning him the title of USCF master. He also competed in the under-12 section of the 2014 World Youth Chess Championships in Durban, South Africa, scoring 6/11. By January, he had crossed the 2000-Elo rating threshold for the first time with a rating of 2192.
From 2016 to 2023, Niemann was a part of the U.S. Chess Federation's All-America Chess Team. After becoming a FIDE master in early 2016, he competed in the Saint Louis Invitational IM Norm. He and Carissa Yip were among the youngest players in the competition. He also competed in the 2016 North American Youth Championship, tying for first place in the under-18 section. In 2017, he entered the SuperNationals VI tournament as the top seed in the K–8 category with a rating of 2412, ultimately finishing in first place. Niemann has competed in the PRO Chess League since 2017, playing for the Las Vegas Desert Rats (2017), Saint Louis Arch Bishops (2019, winning team) and Norway Gnomes (2020).
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Hans Niemann
Hans Moke Niemann (born June 20, 2003) is an American chess grandmaster and Twitch streamer. He first entered the top 100 junior players list on March 1, 2019, and became a FIDE grandmaster on January 22, 2021. In July 2021, he won the World Open chess tournament in Philadelphia. He achieved a peak global ranking of No. 12 in May 2026.
In September 2022, Niemann became embroiled in a controversy after defeating reigning World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen in the third round of the 2022 Sinquefield Cup. As a result, Carlsen withdrew from the tournament, which many interpreted as an accusation that Niemann had cheated during the match. Later, Carlsen directly accused Niemann of cheating and said that he would decline future pairings with him. In a later interview, Niemann admitted to cheating in online chess games when younger at the age of 12 and 16, but denied cheating in over-the-board games.
Niemann was removed from the Chess.com global championship and was also banned from playing on Chess.com in any way. Chess.com published a report noting over 100 games on the site in which Niemann had "likely cheated" according to an internal anti-cheating measure. In response, Niemann filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against Carlsen, Chess.com, and fellow grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura. On June 27, 2023, a federal judge dismissed one of Niemann's claims. On August 28, 2023, Niemann, Carlsen, and Chess.com announced that they had reached an agreement over the matter, in which Niemann was fully reinstated on Chess.com and permitted to participate in future Chess.com events. Carlsen agreed to play him if they matched up, and all parties agreed not to pursue further legal action.
Niemann was born in San Francisco, California, and is of mixed Hawaiian and Danish ancestry. He moved to the Netherlands at the age of seven, where he attended a Leonardoschool for the gifted and started playing chess. He eventually returned to the United States, attending schools in Orinda, California, and Weston, Connecticut, before finally attending Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School in New York City for his junior and senior years of high school. He then became financially independent while working as a chess teacher to support himself.
Niemann attended the U.S. Chess School alongside future grandmasters Andrew Tang, Abhimanyu Mishra, Awonder Liang, Christopher Yoo, and David Brodsky—as well as future U.S. Women's Chess Champion Carissa Yip. While there, he received training from grandmasters Joshua Friedel, Ben Finegold and Jacob Aagaard. He also received training from international master John Grefe, whom he considers his "first serious chess coach."
In 2012,[citation needed] Niemann qualified for the Dutch National Youth Chess Championship. Later, in December, he participated in his first rated tournament in the U.S. In 2013, he participated in the SuperNationals V in Nashville with a rating of 1486, scoring 4/7.
On December 16, 2014, Niemann became the youngest-ever winner of the Tuesday Night Marathon at the Mechanics' Institute Chess Club, the oldest chess club in the United States, earning him the title of USCF master. He also competed in the under-12 section of the 2014 World Youth Chess Championships in Durban, South Africa, scoring 6/11. By January, he had crossed the 2000-Elo rating threshold for the first time with a rating of 2192.
From 2016 to 2023, Niemann was a part of the U.S. Chess Federation's All-America Chess Team. After becoming a FIDE master in early 2016, he competed in the Saint Louis Invitational IM Norm. He and Carissa Yip were among the youngest players in the competition. He also competed in the 2016 North American Youth Championship, tying for first place in the under-18 section. In 2017, he entered the SuperNationals VI tournament as the top seed in the K–8 category with a rating of 2412, ultimately finishing in first place. Niemann has competed in the PRO Chess League since 2017, playing for the Las Vegas Desert Rats (2017), Saint Louis Arch Bishops (2019, winning team) and Norway Gnomes (2020).
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