Ian Nepomniachtchi criticizes Hans Niemann's 'victim mentality' amid online cheating allegations

Ian Nepomniachtchi, also known as "Nepo", has little doubt about Hans Niemann’s ability on the chessboard. Away from it, however, the Russian grandmaster remains less impressed. Reacting to Niemann’s recent call for FIDE to punish players who make public accusations or insinuations, particularly involving young players, Nepomniachtchi said the American grandmaster “can’t stop playing the victim card”. “First of all, Hans can’t stop playing the victim card. He pretty much lives in that skin. I think there was a fair reason, from his online performances through many years, as far as I know, to be cautious about Hans himself,” Nepo, Russia’s No. 1 player, told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interaction on the sidelines of the Global Chess League (GCL). Despite the friction, Nepomniachtchi feels that Niemann has established himself as a strong player. “As for Hans right now, he proves himself as a very good and formidable player. I really like the way he plays chess, though I don’t like his personality. As a chess player, he plays quite well, and in certain openings, he’s quite good at,” he added. At the same time, Nepo also believes Niemann is quick to seize opportunities to provoke a reaction. “Whenever he has an opportunity to bite anyone and seek for some reaction, he immediately does this. Maybe for him, it’s fine for his overall image,” he said. Drawing a comparison with mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor, he said Niemann appears to have embraced a similarly controversial image in chess. “Conor McGregor has 'The Notorious' nickname in MMA. Hans surely tries to be some notorious chess player. So that’s what he does,” Nepomniachtchi said.

The comments come after Niemann criticised Nepomniachtchi over remarks made during an online game against 14-year-old Canadian chess player Aaron Mendes. Mendes defeated Nepomniachtchi in Round 10 of the Titled Tuesday event on September 1. During his stream, Nepomniachtchi questioned Mendes’ decision to play an en passant capture instead of giving check. “I would have zero suspicions about this game, but his en passant instead of a check, it leaves a bad taste. Why? How? For what? Aaron, my friend… Fortunately, we will not play against Aaron again in the tournament, because we already learned our lesson from him,” Nepomniachtchi had said. Niemann subsequently called on FIDE to take action against players who make public accusations or insinuations, particularly when young players are involved. “FIDE must punish players for public accusations and insinuations, especially regarding a 14-year-old,” Niemann wrote on X, adding that genuine concerns should instead be taken to FIDE’s Ethics Commission.

Asked about the Netflix documentary "Untold: Chess Mates", which revisits the cheating controversy surrounding Niemann, Nepomniachtchi said it did not reveal much that was new to him. “I was sort of inside of this. I was playing the same tournament. I didn’t find out anything new. Some of it was more or less obvious,” he revealed.

“Everything was on the surface. But the most disappointing thing in the documentary is that there is no answer. I expected it as a usual chess fan.”Read Also: 8 months, Moscow-to-Munich flights, but now he is 'fed up': Behind Russia No. 1 Ian Nepomniachtchi's tattoos For those looking to get introduced to chess, however, Nepomniachtchi had another recommendation. “If you want to get introduced to chess, I would better suggest you watch "The Queen of Chess" about Judit Polgar. That was an awesome one.”