The greatest chess players in the world at the moment, the Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, considered the best of all time, and the person with whom he is now jostling for the throne, a young American named Hans Niemann, will end up in court, divided not only on boards but also accused of cheating by Dedicated to the opponent, who is claiming compensation of 100 million euros for damages caused by defamation.

The shell cracked last September when 19-year-old Neiman halted Carlsen, 31, from a 53-game winning streak. Luis, but with a bang, using a video of Roma coach Jose Mourinho to question Neiman: “If I talk, I’m in big trouble, I don’t want to be in big trouble. [se falar meto-me numa alhada e não quero meter-me numa grande alhada ]».

Later, Carlsen went so far as to accuse Neiman of not stopping for cheating that he claimed he had done at ages 12 and 16, in online games, but never on the board. Offering all kinds of theories about Niemann’s maneuvers, he even hints that he would have used a sex toy, a vibrator inserted into the anus, to receive information about the toy. The controversy was amplified by North American businessman Elon Musk who sarcastically said, using a phrase from philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, that “genius hits a target no one else can see (because it’s on your tail)”.

The problem is that Carlsen never provided any concrete evidence of cheating on Neiman’s part, given the “unusual” and hard-to-believe height. So, for the young man, the five-time world champion is behind a smear campaign and demands 100 million euros in compensation, in a procedure in the US state of Missouri covering chess.com and another master, the Japanese Hikaru. Nakamura. The site, which hosts several tournaments and has acquired Carlsen Play Magnus, accused Neiman of cheating in more than 100 games, and banned him from participating in its competitions.

After Carlsen’s accusations, event organizers caused a delay between matches and broadcasts, similar to the practice at poker. But Neiman, who is considered very talented and a great master, even offered to act naked to prove his innocence.