1. Cheating in online chess as a teen is a factor, but not that strong. Also, the details of cheating are still private, so we can't rely on that. BTW, chess.co

1. Cheating in online chess as a teen is a factor, but not that strong. Also, the details of cheating are still private, so we can't rely on that. BTW, chess.com belongs to Magnus, partially. 2. It's normal for teens to have jumps in their development. 3. I watched his explanations, they are not that great, but not unreasonable either. 4. They played a couple of weeks before, with the result 3-1 for Magnus [1]. Magnus lost the first game and won other 3. Magnus losing to Niemann wasn't something extraordinary in general. Also, a player can have much better morale while playing with a King, it simply gives more motivation. 5. Magnus hinting cheating accusations is certainly a new thing. But refusing to defend his World Champion title this year is also a new thing. I guess he started to feel way too entitled in chess. Also, all this affects his position in chess business, since he owns a lot of it. He is not just a player anymore. It's a conflict of interests. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champions_Chess_Tour_2022#FTX_Crypto_Cup https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champions_Chess_Tour_2022#FTX_...