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00:00:20There are as many possible chess games as atoms in the visible universe.
00:00:2731-year-old Norwegian Magnus Carlsen is the current world chess champion.
00:00:34Reigns supreme in a sport played by 500 million people.
00:00:39Magnus must remember the position of 320 pieces while calculating 10 moves and counter moves on each board.
00:00:47Magnus wins on all boards.
00:00:49I can see these things immediately where other people see chaos.
00:00:59That is that, ladies and gentlemen, Carlsen has won.
00:01:02Magnus Carlsen has this edge mentally that nobody else possesses.
00:01:07I've been the definite best player in the world now for 12 to 13 years.
00:01:14Magnus Carlsen is doing things that no human being I've met before can do.
00:01:19Do you consider yourself a genius?
00:01:22Do I ever wonder why he was given this gift?
00:01:26Are we living in a simulation?
00:01:28I'm Magnus Carlsen.
00:01:30Magnus Carlsen, the Mozart of chess.
00:01:33One of the great geniuses of our time.
00:01:35Please welcome Magnus Carlsen.
00:01:37The reigning five-time world champion.
00:01:44Magnus Carlsen was defeated in a major upset at the Sank Field Cup.
00:01:49Magnus Carlsen just resigned.
00:01:51Carlsen lost to this younger player.
00:01:54Sending the chess world into chaos.
00:01:58Does chess make you insane?
00:02:00Or does chess keep you sane?
00:02:03One of the greatest chess champions of all time is accusing a fellow player of cheating.
00:02:08Explicitly accused 19-year-old American Hans Niemann.
00:02:12All I did was play a chess game and I beat him.
00:02:14Like, he's entered a level of paranoia that is not, like, sane.
00:02:18He's created a monster.
00:02:20And while he's old, I'm gonna be young, improving, and be the best player in the world,
00:02:23he's gonna have to watch it.
00:02:24And every fucking day of his life, he's gonna have to realize that he did this to me.
00:02:32The chess community does not like people who cheat.
00:02:34Of course it's fucking coordinated.
00:02:36And it's a genuine conspiracy against me.
00:02:38Just people think he's cheating.
00:02:40It's as simple as that.
00:02:41They think that I'm cheating here.
00:02:42Are they crazy?
00:02:43Is Hans cheating over the board?
00:02:44Is he cheating over the board?
00:02:45Or is he?
00:02:47And they did this all because of a personal vendetta.
00:02:50No.
00:02:51Have you ever used anal beads while playing chess?
00:03:26Sometimes I wonder how my life would be without chess.
00:03:33And I think it's a blessing and a curse.
00:03:37I've thought about this a lot, like, what price do you pay for genius?
00:03:42Because, of course, my mind, you know, is capable of things that, you know,
00:03:49may be a pretty good chess player and good at other things,
00:03:52but that comes with an emotional price, and that's probably why I was never normal.
00:03:59Like, when I told my parents at 16,
00:04:02I'm gonna move to New York, I'm gonna live alone, I'm gonna pay for rent,
00:04:05everyone called me crazy.
00:04:09But I knew that I needed to prove to myself
00:04:11that I could be the best chess player in the world.
00:04:14And that took precedent over living with my family and having security.
00:04:26There's periods where I didn't speak to a single person for two months.
00:04:30But, uh, I used to go on these, like, 30-hour benders. I wouldn't sleep.
00:04:35And I would literally just stay up, solve them chess puzzles nonstop.
00:04:39I just consumed everything I could about chess.
00:04:44I like to watch interviews of past players, and I'd analyze their games.
00:04:47I'd be working on the openings, absorbing everything I could.
00:04:51Bobby saw six moves ahead here. He just didn't see seven moves ahead.
00:04:55Sit at my computer for, like, 12 to 16 hours a day,
00:04:57just playing thousands of games a month.
00:05:01And I understood that the only way for me to improve
00:05:03was to play against people so much better than me.
00:05:05Every single opportunity for me to play against the best players in the world
00:05:08was a chance to just absorb that strength.
00:05:12And every single top player is playing on chess.com.
00:05:16It's the entire fucking chess ecosystem.
00:05:20There's no alternative.
00:05:24They have a complete monopoly over the online chess world.
00:05:30It would be correct to say we don't look like the average chess player.
00:05:35When I say chess player, people think of an old white guy from Russia.
00:05:40Chess is not cool. It's super hard. It's only for nerds.
00:05:44It's not something that's for me.
00:05:46And that's really a big reason why chess.com has the pawn as the logo.
00:05:51Because chess is for the pawns.
00:05:52The pawn potential to move up the board and be whatever you want to be.
00:05:58Chess is for everybody.
00:06:00Welcome to debajo del peon verde.
00:06:04Welcome to another under the green pawn.
00:06:07Chess.com started as an idea in 2005 that I wanted to build the MySpace of chess.
00:06:16We officially opened in May of 2007.
00:06:19Here's the hall. Wish me luck. See you on the other side.
00:06:22But it was really small potatoes.
00:06:24I was turning down jobs at Facebook and Palantir and YouTube.
00:06:28And everybody in Silicon Valley was telling us chess would never be big enough to be investable.
00:06:33And, you know, just kind of like laughing us out of the office a little bit.
00:06:36We were always the underdog till COVID.
00:06:40Today the World Health Organization officially announced that this is a global pandemic.
00:06:46Imagine there's no heaven.
00:06:52The murder hornet.
00:06:54I think it's a filter.
00:06:56I don't know how to remove it.
00:06:57The pandemic was absolutely bonkers.
00:07:00But for chess, it was unreal.
00:07:03We could see it in the server logs and registrations.
00:07:07Each country that got locked down, registration spike.
00:07:11Italy was first to lock down.
00:07:14Registrations in Italy.
00:07:15Boom.
00:07:17The next was India.
00:07:19Registrations in India.
00:07:20Boom.
00:07:22And every country, as it got locked down,
00:07:25registrations bumping up four or five X.
00:07:28Overnight.
00:07:31Well, I thought we'd play some chess.
00:07:33Well, I'd like to play chess.
00:07:35And then the Queen's Gambit show on Netflix came along.
00:07:39Those waves hit each other and spiked.
00:07:42At chess.com this month, more than two million new members.
00:07:46We literally did go from a million daily active users to five, six million daily active people playing chess.
00:07:53It was crazy.
00:07:54What is the company currently worth?
00:07:57Probably getting close to a billion dollars in value.
00:08:02That's my guess.
00:08:03Do I care?
00:08:04Not really.
00:08:05But that's my guess.
00:08:07Fuck!
00:08:08During the pandemic, we were constantly thinking about where is our next growth opportunity.
00:08:13What the fuck just happened?
00:08:14And we saw influencers playing chess en masse like we had never seen before.
00:08:19And it became my job to choose the next stars and build the streaming program.
00:08:23Send us to overtime!
00:08:25Danny became maybe the most important person in the entire chess community.
00:08:30We changed chess yet again today.
00:08:32I love you and salute.
00:08:34You're sitting in this position where you're the gatekeeper, the key master to someone's hopes and dreams.
00:08:41And everybody wanted to be a star.
00:08:43Get out of here!
00:08:46You just got old!
00:08:50Before the pandemic, I didn't really know Hans Niemann.
00:08:54I knew...
00:08:58Hans!
00:08:59You just got old!
00:09:00All of the biggest chess creators in the world, the people you see now with millions of subscribers...
00:09:04They were nobodies.
00:09:06And then Chess.com...
00:09:09Artifuck...
00:09:09Created their careers.
00:09:14Chess became a fad.
00:09:15It became a trend.
00:09:17And there's a trend.
00:09:18Everyone follows it.
00:09:19Yo!
00:09:202700 viewers!
00:09:21Damn!
00:09:22These guys are enjoying this!
00:09:24There's always opportunity if you look for it.
00:09:27So, we had to start streaming on Twitch.
00:09:29Every single day.
00:09:31Dude!
00:09:31You watch Twitch?
00:09:33Oh, I'm Hans Niemann!
00:09:35Oh!
00:09:36Here was a young, talented American.
00:09:40With an insane amount of self-confidence.
00:09:42Let's be civil.
00:09:43Let's be mature.
00:09:44And let's continue with the show.
00:09:46He's got bravado.
00:09:49And it made sense for us to work together and try to help him become a streaming star.
00:09:53And I became someone who was mentoring him.
00:09:55Speaking of our participants, they're pretty much ready to roll as we see Hans Niemann.
00:10:00He's got his Doritos, which is his favoritos, snacked.
00:10:03Everything about our relationship was met with a full partnership.
00:10:07And Hans was special to us.
00:10:10Rook E7, suck my balls!
00:10:13I had quite a big fan base.
00:10:15No!
00:10:17The rage is not for the camera.
00:10:21Unfortunately, it's just how I am.
00:10:22Tick tock.
00:10:23Tick.
00:10:24Tick!
00:10:25I think what set me apart from other streamers was everyone else was just so boring that I seem so
00:10:28interesting in contrast.
00:10:30How?
00:10:31How is he so smart?
00:10:35Alright, let's play something slow.
00:10:37Nothing fancy schmancy.
00:10:39Just keep it very slow and very controlled.
00:10:42I am Hikaru Nakamura.
00:10:45I am a Grand Master, currently ranked number three in the world at the great game of chess.
00:10:50I mean, okay, computer will tell you guys if I'm wrong, but I think King F6 is the only-
00:10:55Hans, he's someone that I would compete against playing Blitz games online.
00:10:58It was very clear that he was a strong player, there's no doubt about it.
00:11:01Whoa, what?
00:11:02No, this is insane.
00:11:04But I didn't really particularly care for his brand of antics.
00:11:07No!
00:11:09The old school chess establishment, the view is that you'd be very proper.
00:11:13When you win, you just say, okay, I won the game, you lose, okay, a guy played better than me.
00:11:17My congratulations, sir.
00:11:18A brilliant coup.
00:11:20But Hans, he was very wild.
00:11:22When he lost games, he would scream, he'd yell.
00:11:25Also, when he would win some games, he'd be like, oh, wow, I'm the greatest in the world.
00:11:27I am a god.
00:11:28Now sit the fuck down and get with the flow.
00:11:34Well, why not?
00:11:35Why not speak my mind?
00:11:36Some people like that, some people don't like that.
00:11:38So while the fans might have enjoyed it, there are plenty of people in the chess world
00:11:41who were not fans of that and thought it was very disrespectful,
00:11:43and it wasn't fitting for someone who was a serious player.
00:11:47I know a lot of players would talk about it.
00:11:49They'd say, oh, why does he do this, why does he do that?
00:11:51And they'd all, like, think it's so crazy, but in the world of sports,
00:11:54it's really not that crazy, it's normal.
00:11:56First of all, you know, people are absolute idiots,
00:11:58because the explanation I'm going to give is going to make you all look,
00:12:01all the top GMs look like total idiots.
00:12:03Why do I have to be held to the standard of being so polite and nice?
00:12:06Nice guys, you know, they finish last, as they say.
00:12:09And I'm not a nice guy.
00:12:11You can't be a nice guy and be a champion, unfortunately.
00:12:13In the club, I should go on to the planet.
00:12:15Oh, you're standing there.
00:12:21Oh, what's the plan?
00:12:21Oh, man.
00:12:21Oh, man.
00:12:23Oh, man.
00:12:24Oh, boy, oh, boy.
00:12:25Oh, boy.
00:12:26Oh, boy, oh, boy.
00:12:28How do you do?
00:12:38I've sometimes just found it very surprising that I'm the best in the world at something.
00:12:49Because I don't consider myself particularly remarkable.
00:12:54I know that I'm relatively bright, but I'm not a genius, like I'm not something amazing.
00:13:01I only know that when I sit down at the board, I am better than the other guy.
00:13:14I sometimes feel as though I don't deserve it.
00:13:18I feel like at times it's come kind of easy to me.
00:13:24There are probably people who have worked a lot harder, who haven't reached as far.
00:13:33What do you know about Hans?
00:13:35I had played him a couple of times online, and it was at times quite entertaining because
00:13:41his mood swings would be pretty wild.
00:13:48I was just this kid who didn't view himself as this potential champion, and suddenly
00:13:53here I am playing Magnus, playing the world champion.
00:13:57I'm playing a player I've looked up to for so long, so of course I'm going to be very
00:14:00excited.
00:14:01Holy shit!
00:14:03He was pretty decent, but I still won the game quite easily.
00:14:09Mate!
00:14:10Very pleasing.
00:14:14He's a good player who happens to be American and talk a lot.
00:14:22There's a clip that I watch back, and in this clip I say like, you know guys, you might not
00:14:27believe in me, you might not think I'm crazy, but...
00:14:30There will be a day where I take down Magnus, and where I rise to the best in the world!
00:14:37And you guys will be there every single step of the way.
00:14:41I think there was sort of a journey behind it.
00:14:43People wanted to see the underdog kid, you know, overcome, you know, sort of the top players
00:14:47in the world.
00:14:47We've got fucking so many GMs and the little I am who no one thought could do it!
00:14:53Fucking qualified!
00:14:54I won like 30 grand a month on chess.com.
00:14:57I was one of the best players on the website.
00:15:02And I was beating all these, you know, grandmasters, the top players in the world.
00:15:07I thought that if I can beat them online, why can't I beat them face to face?
00:15:11And I knew that I had to prove myself to the chess world.
00:15:14Over the board.
00:15:19Over the board chess is where two players sit down at a table.
00:15:23You play with a timer or a clock.
00:15:27And you're playing face to face.
00:15:32Queen.
00:15:35To King 4.
00:15:38Over the board is intimate.
00:15:39You hear the breathing of the person across from you.
00:15:42You can see their reaction to the move that you make.
00:15:47And when you win, you can see the pain in another person's eyes.
00:15:51Literally.
00:15:57So, I think we can make a clear distinction between online being this, like, pickup game
00:16:02and over the board being the real deal.
00:16:04For the top players, the over the board rankings, it is basically the current gold standard.
00:16:11The rating system in chess is quite straightforward.
00:16:14You start from a rating of zero and it goes all the way up to world championship level,
00:16:18which is around 2,800 or a little bit above that.
00:16:22At that point, my rating was 2466.
00:16:26Nothing special.
00:16:27Plenty of people at my age in rating.
00:16:30But, you know, my life's mission was to become the best player in the world.
00:16:33And nothing was going to stop me.
00:16:38So, I decided to go to the over the board circuit while being a senior in high school.
00:16:43I got to go all in, play the best tournaments.
00:16:46You know, I got to go to Europe.
00:16:51I started in Spain.
00:16:53I had three amazing tournaments.
00:16:55I gained a lot of rating.
00:16:55I actually went from 2488 to 2525.
00:17:01And then I went off to Italy, increasing my rating.
00:17:08And then after that, non-stop tournament schedule.
00:17:11One month in Serbia, back-to-back-to-back tournaments.
00:17:15Then for the month of March, I played all these tournaments in Italy.
00:17:20And I actually did really, really badly there.
00:17:23I was stuck.
00:17:24I was plateauing.
00:17:25The money was running out.
00:17:26But thankfully, I then went to Montenegro.
00:17:30Playing two tournaments there.
00:17:32I absolutely dominated, catapulting my rating up.
00:17:35And with that confidence going forward, I crushed every single tournament.
00:17:42I guess I knew that he was ambitious in general.
00:17:46He was stationed in Europe.
00:17:48He was playing tournaments more or less every single day.
00:17:52Generally doing quite well.
00:17:54Gating rating.
00:17:56I was an absolute maniac and played every tournament that I could.
00:17:59I won the Philadelphia International.
00:18:03Won the World Open.
00:18:05The US Junior Championship.
00:18:08I won the Copa Blanca Memorial in Cuba.
00:18:11I won another tournament right after that in Sweden.
00:18:15I broke the record for the amount of games played in one year.
00:18:19I played 261 games in one year.
00:18:23And his ranking just keeps going up.
00:18:25Straight up to about 2,700.
00:18:27Which is essentially, I would say, top 30, top 40 in the world.
00:18:30He always had the talent.
00:18:32And now he was turning it on.
00:18:34He flipped the switch.
00:18:35Hans Niemann must be someone who's on trajectory to becoming one of the greatest players of all time.
00:18:44My entire life, I was conditioned and told and bullied.
00:18:47Oh, you're not going to be a chess player.
00:18:49Or you're not going to make money from chess.
00:18:50Oh, you have to go to college.
00:18:52So, it's a very special moment to sort of see your dreams materialize.
00:18:56Well, that was my entrance into the elite chess.
00:18:59And when you're in the club, life's good.
00:19:08I got an email saying, you know, we'd like to invite you to Miami.
00:19:11We are so ready for the FTX Crypto Cup.
00:19:16The Miami FTX Crypto Cup was an e-sports chess event. Spectacular.
00:19:22They brought a bunch of top players to Miami to put them up in a great hotel.
00:19:28We love chess. Yeah.
00:19:30We're talking about, like, people who've competed in the NBA or the NFL of the game.
00:19:35It was one of the most popular events in chess.
00:19:39And having proven himself as a rising star, Hans Niemann got the invite.
00:19:44No, it was big for me. It was big.
00:19:46So, that was the first moment where I realized, okay, you know, this is real.
00:19:52And I'm with all the best players in the world.
00:19:55Just two years ago, I idolized all of them.
00:19:58I didn't even think I'd be having conversations with them.
00:20:03And then now I'm sitting with them at dinner, you know, trash talking.
00:20:06And that was a real big moment for me to realize, this is real, and I'm going to be one
00:20:09of the best players in the world.
00:20:11With a lot of the players who eventually make it to the top, there's some defining game or moment very
00:20:16early in their careers.
00:20:17Like this great game, this masterpiece they play that's just talked about.
00:20:20You step back, you look at them and you're like, wow, this is amazing.
00:20:22They're destined for greatness.
00:20:24And Hans never had any of those moments.
00:20:27In order to be the best, you have to beat the best.
00:20:30You needed legitimacy.
00:20:32Yeah.
00:20:33And Hans, if you want to step a little closer, please.
00:20:37I consider you a man of quite the confidence.
00:20:41Is this just the first step to absolutely crushing these guys for years and years to come?
00:20:46Yeah, I'd like to establish psychological dominance over all of them.
00:20:52What did he really expect from this tournament?
00:20:54Because he's like a significant underdog in every single match.
00:20:59And if he thinks that he can just come here and beat everybody, that seems completely delusional.
00:21:07You know, Magnus has been good for a very long time and I think that's because he's just crushed the
00:21:11soul of all these guys in this room.
00:21:13I intend to replace him.
00:21:17Is he even at your level?
00:21:21Of course not.
00:21:21It felt like he was trying to sort of cosplay as a top chess player, to be honest.
00:21:28That just really threw me off a bit.
00:21:31Thanks guys.
00:21:33Hans starts off this tournament very, very poorly.
00:21:35He's losing most of his matches.
00:21:37And it's clearly not going his way.
00:21:39Yesterday, Hans Niemann lost all three games and it's going to be an uphill battle for him.
00:21:45Looks hopeless to be honest.
00:21:46Does look hopeless.
00:21:48He could like barely last 15 moves.
00:21:51In certain areas, he was just completely lacking understanding.
00:21:54So, to say that anybody thought Hans Niemann was capable of beating Magnus Carlsen would be laughable.
00:22:02Nobody was paying attention to this.
00:22:04Playing the reigning champion today, how do you prepare for that, Mats?
00:22:07Reigning champion. Oh, reigning champion.
00:22:11I had two nice smoothies.
00:22:13But there's nothing about this that makes any sense.
00:22:16Honestly, there's nothing about this that makes any sense.
00:22:22I've been the best player in the world now for 12 to 13 years.
00:22:27I've won a lot of chess games and a lot of tournaments.
00:22:31I'm not insecure about my ability to play chess.
00:22:35His history is unparalleled.
00:22:37And I do get the sense that he is very aware of sort of the aura he has.
00:22:42At some point, you start to think he's invincible and he can never be beaten by anybody.
00:22:46It's a big psychological advantage that he has.
00:22:50I was the lowest player to play there, but I didn't have the same sort of fearful attitude.
00:22:57I thought, this is my chance. Let me take it.
00:23:02Psychologically, Neiman definitely doesn't lack for self-belief.
00:23:04He just needs to back it up now.
00:23:06To start the game, Magnus Carlsen, greatest chess player of all time, is in a great position.
00:23:11This looks just visually terrible for Hans.
00:23:14Magnus' pieces are so well positioned.
00:23:17The rook, the queen, the bishop.
00:23:19It's going to be so hard for Hans to even survive the next few moves.
00:23:22What's interesting then is that Hans jumped in and turns what looks like a dysfunctional kingside into an attack.
00:23:29I do like what he's been doing, Hans.
00:23:31I think he's played very well at the moment.
00:23:32If he keeps this up, he's going to really challenge Magnus, actually, I think.
00:23:36His rooks come to life and Magnus' position completely falls apart.
00:23:40Very impressive.
00:23:41Everything connected for Black now.
00:23:43And that's not Magnus, is it, to play like this?
00:23:47I had no chance in that game whatsoever, which was really weird.
00:23:54Like, we're not on the same level.
00:23:56Like, I'm a lot better than you are.
00:23:59There are moments where I could have just went for a draw and showed respect to the great champion,
00:24:04but unfortunately, I didn't have that in mind.
00:24:08It was just a complete beatdown.
00:24:10There we go.
00:24:11Wow!
00:24:12What a result.
00:24:14Incredible start for Hans Niemann, the lowest-rated player in the tournament.
00:24:18A win against world number one.
00:24:21The reaction from Hans in Miami.
00:24:23Hans, yesterday was a terrible day for you, and today you start out with a masterpiece.
00:24:28How would you summarize it?
00:24:30The chess speaks for itself.
00:24:32Is it something special doing this against Magnus, Hans?
00:24:42The chess speaks for itself.
00:24:47The interview after the game goes viral.
00:24:51It's all over Twitter and Reddit.
00:24:54Some people are like, you don't act that way.
00:24:57Other people are like, look at that, mic drop, let's go, Hans Niemann.
00:25:02Guess which side of the camp I sat on?
00:25:07There are a lot of people who, they don't like seeing Magnus win every tournament,
00:25:11and so it's like this underdog kid who beats Magnus and he's sort of rubbing it in his face.
00:25:18I don't even get it, like he wins a nice game and he's just like, he's just angry.
00:25:22I don't know what's wrong with him.
00:25:24I mean, it's funny, but it's also kind of weird.
00:25:26Like I said, when I saw the interview, I literally was like, this is what the chess world's been waiting
00:25:30for,
00:25:30and then everyone else is going like, maybe the chess does speak for itself because Hans doesn't know what he
00:25:37was doing.
00:25:39He was getting help from somewhere else.
00:25:47I was not groomed to be a top chess player.
00:25:51Going to eight different schools and being bullied at every school I went to for being this sort of chess
00:25:57outcast.
00:26:00So when I was 13, I'd take the train in from Connecticut to New York.
00:26:05There I'd play against the Hustlers for money.
00:26:08What are you doing, Tony?
00:26:09This is the famous Washington Square Park.
00:26:12Okay, we're going to choose everything.
00:26:13This is where the chess tables are.
00:26:16A lot of top players in New York come from this park.
00:26:19They have to beat this man like a dope.
00:26:22And they'll take your money any which way they can.
00:26:29I didn't play the sort of formal type of chess.
00:26:31I had my own approach, I had my own way of doing things, and I've taken a very unique path.
00:26:38Chess player, let's go!
00:26:41I know who you are, and I saw what you did last summer.
00:26:46Hines is the latest, he's the latest man.
00:26:48He won the World Junior Championship, but that didn't teach him until he came here.
00:26:53And then he learned to play.
00:26:57The first thing you learn about chess in the parks, where you will fight to the very end, is that
00:27:03no one ever won by giving up.
00:27:05You can take control even when you're losing, people don't realize that.
00:27:09But it is about control, taking command of the game.
00:27:13I'm trying, this guy's like one of the toughest on the planet.
00:27:17You know you have to be sort of forged through the fire, through the suffering.
00:27:21This guy's the Muhammad Ali of chess.
00:27:24Experience don't count.
00:27:25All along the line, Hans was always the best for his age.
00:27:31And not only was he incredibly good, but he was really fierce at the board.
00:27:41I wanted them to know I wasn't afraid of them.
00:27:44And when you're a kid comfortable playing 56-year-olds, nothing intimidates you anymore.
00:27:49You know, when you see your opponent clearly struggling, and you sort of know that you've got him, it's just,
00:27:55it's just the best feeling.
00:27:57Because you just know that you're just, you're hot shit and they're not.
00:27:59He's tough, he's tough though, he's tough, he's tough, he's tough.
00:28:02Hans can manifest this energy, this intimidating force coming at you.
00:28:07And that wears you down.
00:28:10He's a monster.
00:28:11And the beautiful thing about Hans being a monster, we in New York, he's our monster.
00:28:23The thing is, is that like, I've overcome so many things to get to where I am today.
00:28:29So that's the greater the challenge, I honestly just find it exhilarating, knowing that everyone wants me to fail.
00:28:35And it makes me happy. It only motivates me more. It's only fuel to the fire.
00:28:42This is it, the granddaddy of them all. Welcome everybody to day one of the Sinkfield Cup.
00:28:52Sinkfield Cup is a very prestigious tournament which pits 10 of the best players in the world against each other.
00:29:00By far and away, it is the most watched event in professional chess.
00:29:10When it was announced that Hans was going to be playing in the Sinkfield Cup, there were a lot of
00:29:13rumblings.
00:29:14A very young player from New York, Hans Niemann.
00:29:20People felt that it was implausible for this player to have suddenly gone up so fast.
00:29:24I had gone in a short period from this high school student to on equal terms with the best players
00:29:32in the world.
00:29:32Suddenly, it's like this awakening of all of my dreams, my childhood dreams coming to reality.
00:29:38The tournament that's going on right there inside. We're special here to support Hans.
00:29:43Got our fun little signs here and yeah, just out here to show our support.
00:29:49There were a couple of girls who showed up to the playing hall.
00:29:52They said they're the Hans Demon fan club.
00:29:54I don't think he knows that we're here, so I really hope he comes out and sees us.
00:30:00I did not pay those girls to show up as the Hans Demon fan club, no, no.
00:30:05The tension that was building was already palpable.
00:30:09None of the top players trusted who Hans Demon was.
00:30:13These guys have a group, it's a clique.
00:30:17And it's not just an elitism thing, it's that they've been there, they've earned it, they've done it.
00:30:22And people are like, what are you doing here, man?
00:30:24I was looking around and I said, okay, you know, I think I can belong in this room of great
00:30:29chess players.
00:30:30People were nervous about Hans Demon competing in over-the-board chess
00:30:33because they didn't know what he was capable of in over-the-board chess.
00:30:36They were afraid, they were paranoid.
00:30:39More and more players are becoming suspicious, like you're wondering what is going on.
00:30:44More than one player considered withdrawing from the event.
00:30:48And I can only surmise as to the reason why.
00:30:52I do think on the question whether this will be a dominating performance by one player,
00:30:57you can't rule out a man on screen.
00:30:59Perhaps running away with it.
00:31:01Heading into the Singful Cup, there was still no real doubt as to who the heavy favourite was.
00:31:08We had Magnus Carlsen, the greatest of all time.
00:31:12But then something surprising happens.
00:31:15Exciting chess has brought us a surprise in the leadership.
00:31:20From the beginning I was just outplaying all of them.
00:31:22Extremely solid performance by Hans.
00:31:25How exciting it is indeed.
00:31:27Hans got off to a very good start.
00:31:29He drew the first game against Levon Aroni, an American player.
00:31:34Round two.
00:31:35He won a shocking game over the Azerbaijani player, Shakira Mamad Yarov.
00:31:40He blew him completely off the board.
00:31:43You know, okay, you can be arrogant, you can be confident, but these guys aren't better than me.
00:31:48Magnus, he was looking at my game.
00:31:51I think he was impressed, to say the least.
00:31:56We have headliners, and they're going head to head right now, right here.
00:32:03That was probably the biggest opportunity of my entire chess career.
00:32:05I remember being very nervous about what opening he would play.
00:32:09You know, the opening is really important.
00:32:11So I decided, you know, let me just be in a good mental headspace, ready to fight and to take
00:32:16every chance that I got.
00:32:17And there we have our battle of our leaders.
00:32:21Yeah, with Magnus starting with 1d4, no surprise there.
00:32:23I think if you're in a situation where you don't trust your opponent, you have a huge psychological disadvantage.
00:32:31So, I'm in a mindset of, I'm going to try and surprise him in the opening a bit.
00:32:37And I pick kind of a rare line.
00:32:39An unusual approach by Magnus in the opening.
00:32:42These types of move orders are chosen to trick your opponent.
00:32:46Frankly, this type of approach is Magnus Carlsen's specialty.
00:32:50It's a bit of a risky line, and he plays the exact best move.
00:32:55And it looks like Hans is reasonably well prepared even here.
00:33:00It's clear that Hans, despite this being an obscure opening, knows what he's doing.
00:33:05From the player that I'd known before, I thought he was not that good.
00:33:10And I did not like the situation at all at that point.
00:33:16When I kept applying pressure, slowly and slowly, and eventually he collapsed.
00:33:21That's probably as bad a body posture I've seen on Magnus.
00:33:27He seems rattled by how this game is going.
00:33:29It was very, very surprising the way that he seemed to have no chances, honestly.
00:33:35It definitely felt that I was playing somebody who didn't appear to be putting a lot of effort into this
00:33:41game.
00:33:42It just seemed that, yeah, I'm better than you. I'm outplaying you. This is normal.
00:33:47I'm thinking, like, this is back to Miami again. Like, this guy is just fucking with me at this point.
00:33:56Sometimes I'd wonder, was sacrificing my childhood worth it?
00:34:00Was it worth it to be bullied? Was it worth it to live alone?
00:34:04You have these thoughts. Those thoughts sort of disappeared.
00:34:08And I was just, you know, enjoying my time, thinking about my next first-class flight.
00:34:15At this point, like, I'm really upset.
00:34:18I'm fuming. This just did not feel right at all.
00:34:24And there we have it.
00:34:26Handshake.
00:34:27Wow. What a result.
00:34:29I take pleasure in knowing that he was one of the best players in the world for so long.
00:34:35And I broke him.
00:34:39I think he's just so demoralized because he's losing to such an idiot like me, you know?
00:34:44It must be embarrassing for the world champion to lose to me. I feel bad for him.
00:34:49Yeah, so the thing that's very strange about this interview is his explanations of some of the moves that he
00:34:53played really just don't make sense.
00:34:55I was actually very fortunate that this opening came on the board and I looked at this today.
00:35:00You guessed this opening today?
00:35:02I don't guess it, but for some miracle, I had checked this today.
00:35:05There's so many possible openings in chess. Like, we don't have time to name the, you know, thousands of possible
00:35:12variations of chess.
00:35:13And so to say that he had looked at one out of 10,000 and been like, yeah, I'm going
00:35:19to focus on this for a minute before my match.
00:35:22Like, it just didn't make any sense to anybody at all.
00:35:27But is it possible?
00:35:29Sure. Yes.
00:35:30I mean, one in 10,000 chance.
00:35:31Anomalies happen.
00:35:32I have no idea why I would check such a ridiculous thing.
00:35:35Such a ridiculous miracle.
00:35:38That's a good word to describe what anomalies are. They are ridiculous miracles.
00:35:42That answers my question.
00:35:44That's okay, but it's only the beginning.
00:35:47Hans, thank you for joining us. Candid, as always, congratulations on your performance so far.
00:35:52Definitely a big day for you, beating the world champion. Thank you for joining us.
00:35:55Once I got back to my hotel room, I had this almost euphoric moment like I had made it.
00:36:01And now, like, life's going to be good. Like, life's going to be good. Like, I'm going to be a
00:36:04great chess player.
00:36:05I'm going to be one of the best in the world. Like, I went to bed, like, feeling amazing.
00:36:12So I watched the match between Hans and Magnus in the hotel in St. Louis.
00:36:19I was just kind of a bit sorry for Magnus. I knew he would be annoyed. He didn't seem to
00:36:24play his best game.
00:36:27I didn't have any suspicions about what had happened until I met Magnus coming back from the playing hall.
00:36:37Magnus was kind of doing like this. What is this? And I said, what?
00:36:44And then he explained, basically, that he had been highly suspicious from the start of the game.
00:36:50This was not Hans playing. He was playing some computer.
00:36:56And I said, what do you mean? He was cheating.
00:37:01I felt that I was not playing a human.
00:37:10Cheating has been happening in chess for hundreds of years.
00:37:15Goes all the way back to the mechanical turk.
00:37:20People were losing to what seemed like an invisible force.
00:37:26But there was a human hidden under the chess board making the moves.
00:37:30This was a parlor trick.
00:37:36Cheating as we think about it now is the act of accessing a chess computer to gain an edge on
00:37:43an opponent.
00:37:45Making a move, seeing an opponent move, looking at a computer saying,
00:37:49OK, next best move, making the move.
00:37:51It's the culmination of human and AI knowledge all put together.
00:37:56With a chess computer, you would beat Magnus Carlsen 1,000 out of 1,000 games.
00:38:02And it's available anywhere.
00:38:05It's very, very easy to gain access.
00:38:08So as far as online cheating goes, you can just reach for your phone and just like put in the
00:38:13moves and go from there.
00:38:16But cheating over the board is quite difficult.
00:38:19And the main reason for that is there's a much higher barrier to entry.
00:38:22In other sports, you're cheating before the event.
00:38:26High best ball!
00:38:28She, you, later!
00:38:309-7-9!
00:38:33But in chess, you have to be cheating right then, in the moment.
00:38:39If people could get help from computers, they would just be unbeatable.
00:38:45I know that I was way in my own head.
00:38:49I recognized that then, and I recognize that now.
00:38:52But that's the way it felt to me both in Miami and also in the Sinkfield Cup, that this was
00:38:59somebody who had the ability to cheat.
00:39:01It was an unpleasant situation, but...
00:39:06Yeah.
00:39:08The emotional toll of seeing your child suffer at, for instance, the chess board is significant.
00:39:16It was clear that Hans was a character that you can't really trust.
00:39:20He's a potential threat to the chess world.
00:39:25So, if we really suspect that something is going on, I would like clarity.
00:39:30One way or the other.
00:39:35Magnus talked about going to Hans and knocking on his door.
00:39:39Tell me, what's going on?
00:39:42Well, that probably won't work, and it's a bit offensive also.
00:39:47So, we need to talk to the people that might have information about this.
00:39:52And I said, I had a meeting with Danny Ranch this morning.
00:39:56And I know he was going to fly home, but I can try to ask him if he has any
00:40:02idea about this.
00:40:04It all happened very fast.
00:40:05When I landed, I landed to text messages from Henrik Carlsen and a request to have a phone call as
00:40:11soon as I could talk.
00:40:12And he said, I know what you're going to ask me about.
00:40:16I said, wow.
00:40:18He was asking whether Hans and Niemann had ever been caught cheating on chess.com.
00:40:23And for most people, we punt on the answer, it's not your business, those sort of things.
00:40:28And then for some people, we tell them the truth.
00:40:30Because it's just not in our interest to create a scandal, and we're not looking to defame anyone.
00:40:35But the reality is, when people know, they know.
00:40:44When we found the first cheater on chess.com, we had a pretty big existential crisis.
00:40:51If we don't have the trust of the players playing on our platform, like, online chess would be dead.
00:40:58So you start to look at the math, and you start to build cheat detection algorithms to help us understand
00:41:04what was human play, and what was more than human play.
00:41:09Has there been an occasion where someone is accused of cheating online?
00:41:13And just like, you almost didn't believe it. Where you're like, I know this person, they're a friend.
00:41:18The Hans Niemann case. I was the top person pushing back.
00:41:24In the year 2020, during the pandemic, whispers started amongst a couple of our staff members that they were pretty
00:41:31convinced Hans was cheating.
00:41:32I didn't want to believe it.
00:41:34I'm injured, though.
00:41:36We have been putting a lot of effort and resources and energy and, frankly, love into the potential of Hans'
00:41:42career.
00:41:44Unfortunately, when we peeled back the onion, we saw that Hans had been cheating borderline since the first day he
00:41:49joined chess.com.
00:41:50Yes! Fuck yes! Yes!
00:41:56We had to do what we had to do.
00:41:58Talking to someone about the fact that we've caught them cheating is a little bit of a well-rehearsed script
00:42:03for me.
00:42:05But this call was unique in that Hans immediately started denying.
00:42:10No, no, no, no, no. Like, what are you talking about? This and that.
00:42:14And the moment I told him that this was no longer up for debate, he burst into tears.
00:42:19The thing he was most worried about was, like, if you guys shut me down and I disappear, everyone's gonna
00:42:24know I cheated.
00:42:26Lucky for Hans, I'm gonna help this kid figure this out.
00:42:30He's gonna self-close his account.
00:42:32He's gonna tell his fans he's doing it because he wants to start fresh with a new username that's just
00:42:37for streaming.
00:42:38And in doing that, he's gonna have controlled the narrative to the community that he wasn't closed for cheating.
00:42:46But honestly, I was pretty surprised at the time.
00:42:48Like, how generous you were being.
00:42:50I wasn't looking for a scandal.
00:42:51I wasn't looking for a scandal.
00:42:53I'm still in, like, big brother mentor mode.
00:42:57But that's when the call gets weird.
00:43:00He started asking me specifics.
00:43:02Like, what games exactly did I cheat in?
00:43:06How does the algorithm work?
00:43:09Do you think I've ever cheated over the board?
00:43:11It felt like to me that he was trying to pinpoint how we caught him.
00:43:16And that part of the phone call never left me.
00:43:20Oh, shit. We can never trust this kid again.
00:43:26So, in those conversations with Magnus and Henrik during the Seinfeld Cup, I also thought that Hans might have cheated
00:43:34over the board.
00:43:37For me, that was just, like, that was the confirmation that I needed.
00:43:41This guy is cheating.
00:43:53Why?
00:43:56Why is he not showing up to the game?
00:43:59It's unprecedented.
00:44:01This is the Seinfeld Cup.
00:44:02This is not some random tournament that you just ditched.
00:44:05You know, you don't just not show up to the game.
00:44:09So, I presumed it.
00:44:11I don't know.
00:44:12You must have some reason to not want to play the tournament anymore.
00:44:15And there's his opponent saying,
00:44:17my gosh, I came to play the world chess champion and he's not here.
00:44:22I'm told we have breaking news.
00:44:25There's a tweet from the world chess champion Magnus Carlsen.
00:44:29Alejandro, what was the tweet exactly, if you please?
00:44:32I've withdrawn from the tournament.
00:44:34I've always enjoyed playing in the St. Louis Chess Club and hope to be back in the future.
00:44:40I prefer really not to speak.
00:44:43If I speak, I am in big trouble.
00:44:46In big trouble.
00:44:47And I don't want to be in big trouble.
00:44:50Oh, my gosh.
00:44:52It becomes very, very clear right away what Magnus is saying with this tweet.
00:44:57There's really no doubt about it.
00:44:59In my mind, I would say any top player's mind,
00:45:02especially in light of what we already know is being said behind the scenes.
00:45:06It's obvious what it is.
00:45:08It's a cheating accusation.
00:45:11I was in disbelief.
00:45:13I don't understand how you could even think that would be possible.
00:45:23It was just disappointing.
00:45:24It's just disappointing because, you know, you work your entire life.
00:45:26You beat the world champion.
00:45:28And at the moment when you should be praised and celebrated,
00:45:31this, you know, person that you've looked up to your whole life,
00:45:35then accuse you of cheating.
00:45:37You know, sometimes I feel like Magnus forgets how much power he has.
00:45:42And after this, kind of all hell breaks loose.
00:45:45It's been absolute pandemonium in the chess world.
00:45:49What's going on? Why did he withdraw?
00:45:50What am I even supposed to say?
00:45:52There's a lot of rumors already, but probably some people have a decent idea of what he's alluding to.
00:45:59He had no reason to be trusted, regardless of Magnus Carlsen lighting a fire.
00:46:04Everybody was coming to the same conclusion that Hans had cheated.
00:46:09And he had somehow gotten a signal from an earpiece or some other type of communication device.
00:46:17Everybody was going back and reviewing footage as to what could have happened.
00:46:23Did his jacket look a little bulky in this area?
00:46:26How come he's, you know, his ankle is itchy all the time?
00:46:30Detective gestures covering his neck, that is important to notice.
00:46:34Every single part of his mannerisms got picked apart.
00:46:38If he has a cavity in his tooth, could he take out the filling of the cavity and input a
00:46:43small device
00:46:44that sends very small electroshocks or something?
00:46:47What level of grandiose cheating am I doing?
00:46:51And in this discussion, in one stream on Twitch,
00:46:56somebody in chat said maybe it was anal beads.
00:47:04That's probably a good one, right?
00:47:05An anal bead probably would beat the thing.
00:47:08I'm serious.
00:47:08If the engine, I...
00:47:10It would probably...
00:47:13I don't know.
00:47:14I really don't know.
00:47:15Like, think about it. I don't know.
00:47:18Talk about something getting out of control faster than anybody knew what was coming.
00:47:22The chess world has been rocked by rumors of anal beads.
00:47:28They call it castling.
00:47:31It involved a vibrating sex toy in his rear quarters.
00:47:35Dude! He's using anal beads Morse code!
00:47:39I mean, the theory is that basically someone has some, like, some anal beads,
00:47:43and obviously I'm no expert in it, but I think it's sort of, you get some sort of signal from
00:47:47the beads.
00:47:48It sort of became the truth in a way. Like, suddenly it became this legitimate theory.
00:47:52Player was able to communicate by flexing his anus, which apparently communicated to a computer.
00:47:58I mean, this is extraordinary stuff.
00:48:00People on Twitter started talking about it.
00:48:03And then my own children said,
00:48:06did you see that Elon Musk retweeted about wireless anal beads?
00:48:13Sending the chess world into chaos.
00:48:16One bus means a bishop, two buses means a knight.
00:48:19And it sort of exploded.
00:48:21Joe Rogan was talking about it.
00:48:23Chester Grandmaster denies cheating by using anal beads.
00:48:26Yeah, I mean, the thing is, I like to win.
00:48:32But do I like it that much?
00:48:35It was like mainstream news. Front page.
00:48:37I get why someone would use vibrating anal beads to cheat, you know?
00:48:41Because even if you lose, you still kind of win, you know?
00:48:45When I was offered a million dollars to play chess naked,
00:48:48people were telling me to take Adam and Eve sponsorships.
00:48:51No, thank you.
00:48:53I do think the anal implant is a genuine concern.
00:48:58We had our COVID bump.
00:48:59We had our Queen's Gambit bump.
00:49:02The beads bump was real.
00:49:06Anal beads have been super good.
00:49:08Don't use that.
00:49:16They enjoyed it.
00:49:18They took pleasure in it.
00:49:20And it was very sad to see my life's work just, like,
00:49:24you know, burn in front of my eyes.
00:49:30Yeah, I think that people, they might laugh about it.
00:49:36But there's actually a very sad story behind it.
00:49:38Even if you lose, you still kind of win, you know?
00:49:42Knight to king seven.
00:49:50Yesterday, I probably had to explain that I didn't use anal beads
00:49:53about five different times to five different people.
00:49:56That's what my life and all my accomplishments
00:49:58and all my work has been boiled down to fucking anal beads.
00:50:02Our players are arriving for the game.
00:50:06Exactly, as the players get checked with all the electronic gizmos
00:50:10that we can possibly muster.
00:50:12We can see once Niemann already, he arrived to the plane venue
00:50:15and he is carefully checked by the chief arbiter of the event.
00:50:19Of course, they had to make a mockery of me.
00:50:21They're just trying to, like, humiliate me.
00:50:26But as we saw, it got delayed by the security check.
00:50:32That's a very serious wanting.
00:50:34I felt like everywhere I walked in this hotel,
00:50:36someone was watching me.
00:50:37I told myself I had to fight, but I was not in a mental state
00:50:41to play chess, unfortunately.
00:50:43They played kind of in a very, very normal fashion up until move nine.
00:50:48And then Hans went for a set-up, which I don't believe I've seen before at all.
00:50:54Like, every day I'd finish my game and see all the news,
00:50:57the new articles, and I couldn't focus.
00:51:01Whoa, whoa.
00:51:03Yeah, everything I know about chess...
00:51:06Chess?
00:51:07...indicates that this is a terrible move.
00:51:09It was just like my life.
00:51:11I just knew that I was going to be fucked for a while.
00:51:15Since this whole thing of controversy the last few days,
00:51:19it's been impossible for him.
00:51:21It's the one that he held on for so long before it started coming unglued.
00:51:26There was a point where I was looking in the mirror, and I'm like,
00:51:29what am I going to do?
00:51:31And at last, we have Hans Niemann in studio with Alejandro.
00:51:36Hans, we've got to speak about the elephant in the room.
00:51:39You've asked to have some words.
00:51:41Before the interview, I told him, I told the interview, I said,
00:51:44I want you to let me speak uninterrupted.
00:51:47And, um, in that interview, I let everything out to public.
00:51:51Okay, so this is what happened.
00:51:52When I was 16 years old during my streaming career,
00:51:55in an absolutely ridiculous mistake.
00:51:57I just wanted to get high-rated so I could play stronger players,
00:51:59so I cheated in random games on chess.com.
00:52:02Now, I was confronted, I confessed,
00:52:04and this is the single biggest mistake of my life,
00:52:07and I'm completely ashamed, and I'm telling the world because
00:52:11I do not want any misrepresentation, and I do not want rumours.
00:52:15If you were to ask me how many games I cheated in online when I'm 12 or 13...
00:52:20Oh my God, okay.
00:52:22It was nine games back then, so it's one tournament.
00:52:25Around the age of 16.
00:52:30Maybe...
00:52:3120 or 30.
00:52:33Maybe a little...
00:52:35You know, I was a complex person who made mistakes.
00:52:39You make mistakes as a kid,
00:52:41doesn't mean that every single thing that you do for the rest of your life,
00:52:46you know, should be discredited.
00:52:48He truly is just a Jekyll and Hyde human being.
00:52:51An immense talent with a ton of issues.
00:52:54He admitted to just enough to garner sympathy,
00:52:57ensuring that anything we would say after that
00:53:00would make us look like the big bad guys.
00:53:02It was exactly the right play.
00:53:05And then, right after the game,
00:53:06I went to go at chess.com to log into my account.
00:53:10Password wasn't working.
00:53:12Because of this game against Magnus,
00:53:13because of what he said,
00:53:15they have decided to completely remove me from their website.
00:53:18Did they give a reasoning? No reason.
00:53:20That was a permanent ban from chess.com,
00:53:22and they also removed my invitation from the Global Witches Championship
00:53:25with a first prize of $200,000.
00:53:28It was all...
00:53:31very well timed.
00:53:34I'm kind of like, well, you can be mad that I'm unfair to you now.
00:53:36I was probably too fair to you before, man.
00:53:39You lied, and you cheated.
00:53:41Multiple times.
00:53:42The truth is, like, Magnus Carlsen's actions were the catalyst to a pot
00:53:46that was much closer to boiling than people know.
00:53:49I didn't know what I was dealing with.
00:53:51I acted and removed Hans Niemann because I could no longer punch
00:53:55or kick the can down the road on the fact that I didn't know
00:53:58whether Hans was cheating again.
00:54:00That's the reason we removed him.
00:54:02Unfortunately, I'm going to have to be honest
00:54:04and speak the truth about all my enemies.
00:54:07Welcome, everyone, to the closing ceremony of this year's Singfield Cup.
00:54:12Hello.
00:54:13Hello, Hans.
00:54:15I was happy that the tournament was over because I just couldn't handle it.
00:54:18It's a pleasure to be here with everyone.
00:54:20Why was I banned at the exact same time that Magnus accused me of shooting?
00:54:24It's not a fucking coincidence.
00:54:31It's all connected. It's all connected.
00:54:35They banned me because they're in the process of finalizing
00:54:39the most important merger of chess history.
00:54:41A merger that will give them complete, untouchable power over the chess world.
00:54:48If Magnus wants to come and party, he can.
00:54:50You know?
00:54:51People would fucking, like, come to this.
00:54:54They're buying Magnus Carlsen.
00:54:55You know what?
00:55:05Clay Magnus Group was a group of 13 companies.
00:55:09They were one of our main rivals
00:55:11and kept Magnus Carlsen from participating on chess.com.
00:55:16Not having Magnus Carlsen on chess.com was like the NBA,
00:55:21but LeBron James was competing in a separate basketball league.
00:55:26And so we eventually made an offer to buy them out,
00:55:31you know, paid roughly $80 million.
00:55:37I mean, the timing really could not have been worse.
00:55:39If someone writes a story, it's like all these pieces that randomly fit together.
00:55:43It almost looks like this, you know, great conspiracy where this happened, that happened.
00:55:46It's all like, it was all part of the grand plan.
00:55:48I'm this little speck, little ant that they decided to step on and destroy.
00:55:53There's no denying that there was pressure to remove Hans during the Sinkville Cup.
00:55:59But I stand by that we did not remove Hans Niemann because of pressure.
00:56:03Of course it's fucking coordinated.
00:56:05They have to pander to their business partner Magnus, you know?
00:56:07They can't, they can't upset him too much or otherwise he's going to throw another tantrum.
00:56:11And when a baby starts crying, you know, you have to give them something to shut them up.
00:56:16And you think that Magnus as manager, whoever isn't on the phone every day with Danny Ranch,
00:56:20oh, you know, merger this, merger that.
00:56:21And no, you know Hans Niemann? Oh yeah, yeah.
00:56:24I don't know how the Niemann case would impact that one way or the other.
00:56:30It was just that we were future team members that wanted to help each other, basically.
00:56:40I understood that I put myself in the crosshairs of some very powerful people.
00:56:54Henrik and Magnus wanted to know if Chess.com's anti-cheat technology could be used to investigate
00:57:03if Hans had cheated in any over-the-board games.
00:57:10Whether it was on his meteoric rise or during the Sinkfield Cup,
00:57:14they were asking us, like, can you do it?
00:57:17We were just looking for objective information, basically.
00:57:20And our response was like...
00:57:25I don't know, we'll take a look. We'll try. We'll try to see.
00:57:28We're going to find out right now.
00:57:32Danny convinced me that our algorithm is good at detecting cheating over-the-board,
00:57:38and I believe that. Absolutely.
00:57:42Chess.com has the best cheat detection, period.
00:57:46There's no reason to dance around that.
00:57:48I mean, we probably have our...
00:57:49Hans had even said it himself. It's not even close.
00:57:53We have a huge anti-cheat department.
00:57:57We put the most people on it, the most amount of money and resources into it.
00:58:02We're the biggest, you know, server farms that are crunching the numbers.
00:58:06We have all the data, all the algorithms.
00:58:08Like, let's go. I want to find this.
00:58:10I'm going to launch the world's greatest investigation to find out how this little cheating kid, like,
00:58:16gamed the system and beat the world champion.
00:58:18I'm going to solve this mystery.
00:58:22So many people came out of the woodwork to provide chess.com with evidence that Hans had cheated.
00:58:29I was running down every single story. I'm going to look at every single game he's ever played.
00:58:34We did a very thorough job investigating all of Hans' games online.
00:58:39And it was one of the most eye-opening things, because, like, he had cheated way more than even we
00:58:43thought.
00:58:44The online cheating was rampant.
00:58:47He had cheated in well over a hundred online games.
00:58:53I was like, there's so much smoke here, there has to be fire.
00:58:59And I thought the truth was that Hans and Niem had cheated over the board at the 2022 Singful Cup.
00:59:07I thought that that was going to be the end of this story.
00:59:17Now, there's been a development in the cheating scandal that's rocked the world of chess.
00:59:21A 72-page investigation from chess.com found no evidence that Niemann had cheated in his game against Carson
00:59:28or in any over-the-board games.
00:59:30There is nothing in our statistical investigation to raise any red flags regarding his...
00:59:38That's...
00:59:38That's a crazy sentence to read right now!
00:59:42Everybody wanted this to be true.
00:59:45Everyone wanted this to be true.
00:59:47And, like, I felt like I was in the chair, ultimately, at the end, saying,
00:59:53Sorry, everyone. Like, this isn't...
00:59:57What is being shown in the data.
00:59:59I was arguing with Eric, like, what do you mean you're telling me the data isn't saying that he's cheating?
01:00:05As time went on, every theory, every accusation fell apart.
01:00:10The over-the-board evidence wasn't there.
01:00:12I thought that we were gonna, like, set the world free on the fact that we solved this, like, incredible
01:00:17mystery.
01:00:18And, in fact, in the end, it looked like we fucked up.
01:00:21Of course they wanted to find some smoking gun or some proof, like, but it doesn't exist.
01:00:26So it just, unfortunately for them, I'm innocent. I always have an innocent.
01:00:30We stood before Magnus Carlsen, this brand-new working marriage of companies together, and said what they didn't want to
01:00:37hear, which is that Hans Niemann was innocent.
01:00:40And that was some of the hardest shit we ever had to do. And it's the stuff that people don't
01:00:43know.
01:00:45This is how they operate. Like, they talk a lot.
01:00:48I have had to tell, especially Danny, a few times, like, can you just use a bit fewer words to
01:00:56say what you want to say?
01:00:57Because I don't want all the bullshit.
01:00:59They didn't have the smoking gun.
01:01:02I felt pretty bad. I felt that I'd sort of been gassed a bit by Danny and Chess.com into
01:01:10thinking that they had evidence, which they really didn't.
01:01:14That's the sort of the ace that I felt that I had all the time.
01:01:20In retrospect, maybe Chess.com was so concerned about the relationship to Magnus that they might have promised a little
01:01:28bit more than they could deliver.
01:01:30It just didn't, just didn't happen.
01:01:34So that left, like, me in a bit of a strange situation. What to do now?
01:01:40I don't mean to be, you know, zealous here, but, uh, everyone's day of judgment comes.
01:01:47The teenage Chess grandmaster accused of cheating last month, now suing his accusers for $100 million.
01:01:54That's according to a lawsuit he filed in federal court yesterday.
01:01:58We got the news that he'd filed a lawsuit suing, you know, everybody on their dog.
01:02:05The filing reads, in part,
01:02:07Enraged that the young Neiman dared to disrespect the king of chess and fearful that the young prodigy would further
01:02:13blemish his multi-million dollar brand by beating him again, Carlson maliciously retaliated.
01:02:18It was a bit too much.
01:02:21Claiming this whole conspiracy against one kid, like, maybe he believes this, which I really don't think.
01:02:32This facade that he puts up in interviews and media training, it's all a complete joke.
01:02:37Even if his friends don't like him.
01:02:40Like, his friends, like, well, like, it's, like, unbearable even to be around.
01:02:43Like, all of his friends would be, like, telling me about, like, how annoying it is to be around him.
01:02:49I sued them because they lied.
01:02:52And they conspired.
01:02:53And they destroyed my entire career and life.
01:02:56They made a mockery of me.
01:02:58And they all did it in coordination.
01:03:00And no one's, no one's denying that.
01:03:03I'm the one who had the most personal relationship with Hans.
01:03:06A talented young man individually, normally, normally focused on only your own chess.
01:03:10It's just hard because when you get sued for a hundred million dollars, like, it, the biggest punch in the
01:03:16gut, the most mind-blowing experience.
01:03:18Like, I don't have a hundred million dollars.
01:03:21FYI.
01:03:21Like, that's not something that is, like, that is there.
01:03:25I certainly don't think that, uh, he's a mentor to me now.
01:03:29Actually, you know, you know, I think all the terrible things he's done has inspired me so much.
01:03:34So, whatever the, whatever the opposite of a mentor is, like, it's a mentor, but in the worst possible way.
01:03:39So, he has the effect of a mentor by inspiring me and invigorating me to, to destroy all of them.
01:03:46Have you not seen, like, what the guy has done to me?
01:03:48Have you ever used anal beads while playing chess?
01:03:52Not a question I ever thought I'd ask a guest, to be honest.
01:03:55That, uh, interview was a good example of, like, what my life has become, right?
01:03:59It's just anal beads this, anal beads that, and I have to live with that.
01:04:02Uh, well, you know, your curiosity is a bit concerning, you know.
01:04:05Maybe you're personally interested, but, uh, I can tell you no.
01:04:08Okay, categoric no.
01:04:11Just the fact that, uh, how Hans, uh, survived through this process,
01:04:18and he even seemed to thrive, uh, on, on this noise.
01:04:22It's, uh, it's very impressive and, uh, nearly disturbing.
01:04:28Magnus Carlsen. Are you still suing him for $100 million?
01:04:33The case has been resolved, Pierce.
01:04:37There was obviously the settlement, um, and mind you, I didn't want to settle.
01:04:44But also, the U.S. legal system sucks, and it's really expensive.
01:04:51He can't look me in the eye.
01:04:54He's, like, literally afraid to even be close to me.
01:04:58It's traumatic for him.
01:05:01If he'd have to shake my hand or look me in the eye, he'd collapse, he'd throw a tantrum.
01:05:05I think it's very likely that I'll play him again.
01:05:09But he needs to get a bit better to play him in proper, like, over-the-board tournaments.
01:05:23I'm joined by Magnus Carlsen on the evening before the first match of the 2024 Speechless Championship in Paris, France.
01:05:32Let's address the elephant in the room.
01:05:34Your semifinal matchup is against Hans Niemann.
01:05:38You've never had a villain.
01:05:42How does it feel to have this kind of, like, presence in your life now?
01:05:45Which, I mean, it will not go away so long as you are competing.
01:05:50Carlsen has avoided the youngster who is now rapidly climbing the chess charts and defeating Super Grand Masters.
01:05:58Niemann has certainly become a lot better at chess the last couple of years.
01:06:04And it's a matchup I certainly didn't want.
01:06:07The press conference is going to be up here.
01:06:11Where's the press conference?
01:06:12It's going to be right here.
01:06:13It's going to be right here.
01:06:13You're going to stand here?
01:06:14Well, I'll wait for that.
01:06:16It's not a matter of an exclusive.
01:06:17It's just a matter of the whole carnage.
01:06:19We're a broadcaster of the tournaments.
01:06:21And you've got to be allowed to have a similar conversation with you.
01:06:24The fact that Hans is here is just, like, it is mind-blowing.
01:06:29If someone from chess.com tells me that I'm contractually obliged, then I will do it.
01:06:33I've done my part.
01:06:34He's gotten so much fucking better.
01:06:36He's playing the best chess of his career.
01:06:38Like, there's no, there was no anticipating this.
01:06:42It's going to be interesting from a pure chess perspective to see what he can do.
01:06:49What's your main feeling about this matchup with Magnus' excitement?
01:06:54Is it relief that you can finally play him again?
01:06:57Is this revenge?
01:06:59Pure serenity.
01:07:01Very common.
01:07:04If he loses this match, it will be the greatest stain on his legacy.
01:07:09Because he put his entire career in line.
01:07:12All right, guys.
01:07:13We are here for the match of the day.
01:07:15The one that everyone has been waiting for.
01:07:17How's the crowd feeling about today's match here?
01:07:19Let's go. Let's hear some energy.
01:07:30Yeah, okay.
01:07:31Our first player of today's match, Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen.
01:07:38There's always a little bit of fear playing against somebody whom you don't really trust.
01:07:45And his opponents, Grandmaster Hans Niemann.
01:07:49I mean, there's a lot of history.
01:07:51There's a lot in the line emotionally, especially for Hans Niemann.
01:07:54You see him there.
01:07:55He's locked in and he wants this one more than anything in the world.
01:07:59This is the culmination of a two-year saga.
01:08:03Almost two years to the day.
01:08:06Everyone has been waiting for this matchup for the first time that they're sitting across from each other in two
01:08:11years.
01:08:12Your life is defined by critical moments.
01:08:14You have chances and you have opportunities.
01:08:15And this is one of these opportunities.
01:08:17And I will rip him to shreds.
01:08:18There is potential for this to spiral if things start the wrong way.
01:08:23Like, there's no doubt about that.
01:08:26We've got drama.
01:08:28We've got action.
01:08:29And we are gonna have chess in less than 10 seconds.
01:08:33Can I get an amen?
01:08:35Life is truly poetic.
01:08:37And I think that this is the most poetic ending.
01:08:40I'm here in Paris.
01:08:44It's the best place for revolution.
01:08:49Bring out the guillotine.
01:08:56Wow, A4 played by Hans.
01:08:58He's just trying to explode the queen side.
01:09:00Magnus darts to the center.
01:09:01You see Hans bobbing there and getting angry.
01:09:03Can he convert?
01:09:04Only Hans can win.
01:09:06No, I'm wrong.
01:09:06He gets himself in trouble.
01:09:07It's almost me.
01:09:11This is gonna be a nasty finish here.
01:09:13And this finally will end the match.
01:09:16I mean, seriously.
01:09:16The guy just got it done on a match.
01:09:18What an incredible, what an incredible performance.
01:09:22Magnus Carlsen, world number one.
01:09:24Just took down Hans Niemann.
01:09:26A player who is maybe one of the best known players on the planet
01:09:29for some things off the board.
01:09:32But here on the board, it wasn't quite enough.
01:09:34And Magnus Carlsen, he made him pay.
01:09:36Magnus Carlsen dominated this match.
01:09:40And whatever Hans Niemann thinks that means
01:09:44and whatever statements that sends.
01:09:46Chess is not gonna be speaking for itself tomorrow, guys.
01:09:49Remember that summer?
01:09:53You were number one.
01:09:57Everybody said, good lord, you deserve to have won.
01:10:04And I say you, that I deserve to win too.
01:10:10Well, I'm better for that, thanks to you.
01:10:20It's not the worst city to lose it.
01:10:25He always said that he wanted the chess to speak for itself.
01:10:29He wanted to settle things not in the courtroom,
01:10:33but on the chess board.
01:10:36So...
01:10:38I might have lost the chess board,
01:10:40but on my end, I'm doing pretty fucking well.
01:10:44As a lone warrior against a legion.
01:10:48Even though my entire life and career has been destroyed,
01:10:51and I'll have to live with the fact
01:10:53that every conversation I have about chess
01:10:55will eventually discuss anal beads.
01:10:58I am a man on a mission,
01:10:59and they have made it my life's purpose to win.
01:11:04I'm gonna be a stone-cold killer for the rest of my life.
01:11:07There's something about Hans
01:11:12that creates an uneasiness inside of me.
01:11:15How do you explain Hans Niemann?
01:11:18You know, now you have the Norwegian world champion,
01:11:22a god among men,
01:11:24the most dominant chess player of the modern generation,
01:11:27and it's not even close.
01:11:29And then there's the kid.
01:11:31The kid who had the beads?
01:11:37He's now one of the most recognizable, infamous people
01:11:40to ever play the game of chess.
01:11:43And in my opinion,
01:11:44he lost the person that he was along the way.
01:11:48They're just a complete chess mafia, really, really.
01:11:51That's it.
01:11:53And I just cannot wait for Magnus,
01:11:55while he's old and, you know, dishevelled
01:11:57and going further deep into his insanity.
01:12:00I'm gonna be young, improving,
01:12:02and at least gonna have to watch it.
01:12:04I'm not motivated by spite,
01:12:06but if that's gonna inspire him
01:12:08to be the best version of himself,
01:12:11then go for it.
01:12:14Just as long as he plays fair.
01:12:19I'm going to become the best player of the world.
01:12:22And no one's gonna believe that now,
01:12:24but this clip will play over and over again,
01:12:26in ten years. Just wait.
01:12:28And because I know things that the world doesn't,
01:12:30and that's because I can see the future.
01:12:49So that's a great movie is constantly changing.
01:12:50So that's just what we can do,
01:12:50having fun to make style with us back in the world.
01:12:52Sorry about the legally some reason
01:12:52And that's also helpful.
01:12:52All in general theory shows do it,
01:12:53But it might not be an element of our space.
01:12:53the creatively,
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