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American grandmaster Hans Niemann, ranked 18th in the International Chess Federation (FIDE) standings, has traveled to Moscow to participate in the Aeroflot Open chess tournament, which has a prize fund of 20 million rubles (just over $220,000). Niemann explained that his decision to come to Russia was driven by the desire to compete in a FIDE-rated event.
“I have no tournaments to play and Aeroflot is a part of the FIDE circuit. End of story. May the best player win,” Niemann posted to X on Feb. 27. “I haven’t received a single top level invitation in 3 years. I’ve had 3 invitations revoked without cause,” Niemann added in a follow-up post.
Niemann also announced his intention to donate any prize money to charity and stressed that he personally financed his trip to Russia.“I paid for my own hotel, flight, [and] intend on donating all prize money to charity,” the American grandmaster explained.
The last time a U.S. player competed in the Aeroflot Open was in 2018, when Gata Kamsky took part in the event.
FIDE is notably headed by Arkady Dvorkovich, Russia’s former Deputy Prime Minister, who has held the position since October 2018 and was re-elected for a second term in August 2022. As The Insider has previously noted, FIDE remains one of the few international sports federations in which Russian influence is still significant — the country was banned from international football tournaments and the Olympic Games, among a host of other competitions, following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Niemann, for his part, has been excluded from prestigious and high-level chess tournaments due to an ongoing dispute with Magnus Carlsen. The conflict began in September 2022, when Carlsen lost to Niemann at the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis and subsequently withdrew from the event — for the first time in his career.
There was soon speculation about Carlsen’s motives, and American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura — who is also a popular YouTuber and Twitch streamer — claimed that Carlsen’s withdrawal was motivated by suspicions that Niemann had cheated. Niemann had previously been banned from the online platform Chess.com for violating the rules of fair play.
Chess.com later released a 72-page report, initially reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, which found that Niemann “likely received illegal assistance in more than 100 online games” — including in events where prize money was on the line. However, Niemann’s match against Carlsen was played face-to-face on a physical board.
Carlsen never specified how exactly Niemann might have received outside help during their showdown, but rumors circulated that he used remote-controlled vibrating anal beads to gain an advantage. As noted by NPR, the bead theory came from chess commentator Eric Hansen — and was then picked up by Elon Musk in a since-deleted tweet.
At the time, Niemann denied cheating in over-the-board games but admitted to having previously cheated in online chess. He firmly denied ever using anal beads to assist his play.
Niemann later sued Carlsen, Chess.com, and Nakamura for $100 million, alleging a conspiracy to destroy his career. The dispute was eventually settled: Niemann dropped the lawsuit, Chess.com reinstated his account, and Carlsen agreed to play him in future tournaments. FIDE fined Carlsen €10,000 for withdrawing from the tournament but cleared him of defamation charges.
Despite the resolution, Niemann’s name remains synonymous with controversy in the chess world, often used as a tongue-in-cheek reference to unfair play.