A Missouri federal court on Tuesday dismissed US chess prodigy Hans Niemann’s $100 million (€91 million) defamation lawsuit alleging Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen and Chess.com falsely accused him of cheating.
Mr Niemann’s lawyers said they will pursue their claims in state court.
US district court judge Audrey Fleissig rejected Mr Niemann’s claims that Mr Carlsen and Chess.com broke antitrust laws by colluding to exclude him from lucrative tournaments.
The judge also found she did not have jurisdiction over Mr Niemann’s state law claims for defamation and breach of contract, among others.
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The legal battle stems from Mr Niemann’s upset victory over Mr Carlsen at a tournament in St Louis, Missouri, in September 2019 and Mr Carlsen’s subsequent claims that Mr Niemann had cheated, allegations Mr Niemann denies.
Chess.com, the largest online chess platform in the world, appeared to back up Mr Carlsen’s claims when it said it had uncovered evidence of repeated cheating in Mr Niemann’s online playing history. Chess.com merged with Mr Carlsen’s online chess company in December 2022.
Mr Niemann claimed he lost out on millions of dollars in potential winnings after being allegedly blacklisted from major tournaments by the defendants.
Mr Carlsen and Chess.com denied those allegations, saying Mr Niemann has still been able to compete in major tournaments.
Lawyers for Mr Niemann (19), whose defeat of Carlsen last year stunned the chess world, said in a statement that the decision has “absolutely no impact” on his ability to pursue his defamation claims in state court.
An attorney for Mr Carlsen, the highest-ranked chess player in history, said in a statement that the court rejected Mr Niemann’s bid to recover an “underserved windfall in Missouri federal court” and chill free speech “through strategic litigation in that forum”.
Lawyers for Chess.com said in a statement that the company is “happy to see an end to this saga” and “grateful that all parties can now focus on growing the game of chess”. – Reuters
