Episode 3: The Players - Hans Niemann (Part 2)

Hans Niemann had already made a name for himself in chess prior to the 2022 Sinquefield Cup scandal…the bad boy of chess, plagued by online cheating revelations, and already marked as an oddball at the young age of 19. And to be considered weird by the chess world means you’ve really got some baggage (looking at you, Bobby Fischer (RIP)). But what exactly did Hans do to earn the ire of Magnus Carlsen and his legion of fans - was it really just the OTB cheating allegations? Or were Hans and Magnus already enemies even before the events at Sinquefield? Was it really all just a business acquisition cover-up? Why did Hans walk away from a lucrative streaming career to lock himself in hotel rooms across Europe, only leaving his room to play in tournaments and practicing chess 15 hours per day? If we had questions about the unknowability of Magnus last time, buckle up - because hosts Jess and Ryan have even more questions about the weirdness that is Hans “The Heel” Niemann.

Hosted by good producer / bad chess player Jess Schmidt and first-time podcaster / good chess player Ryan Webb, this series explores the events leading up to and following the Sinquefield Cup cheating scandal and tries to unravel the truth of what really happened - or, failing that, what the heck these events could mean to chess.

Thanks for listening!

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Written, hosted, and produced by Jess Schmidt and Ryan Webb.
Edited, mixed, and mastered by Jess Schmidt.
Music by Lorna Gildfedder.
Executive producers are Rooney and Indigo Schmidt-Webb (ruff, ruff! Awooooo!)

Featured in this episode:
Ben Johnson, host of The Perpetual Chess Podcast
Brin-Jonathan Butler, author of The Grandmaster: Magnus Carlsen and the Match That Made Chess Great Again
David Franklin, Associate Professor of Law
James Canty III, FIDE Master and Chess Streamer
Emilia Castelao, FIDE historian
Chess Teacher JJ Lang and Therapist Julia Rios, hosts of chessfeels podcast
Mike Boyd, Youtuber

Sources
The Perpetual Chess Podcast: Ep 271, GM Hans Niemann on his rapid climb up the chess rankings and what’s next for him in 2022 https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2022/3/22/ep-271-ep-271-gm-hans-niemann-on-his-rapid-climb-up-the-chess-rankings-and-whats-next-for-him-in-2022
Hans and Magnus beach day at 2022 FTX Crypto Cup https://www.chessdom.com/the-carlsen-niemann-conflict-is-more-recent-than-everyone-thinks/
Reddit: Where is Hans Niemann’s accent from? https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/x6srsv/where_is_hans_niemanns_accent_from/