Chess Grandmaster Hans Niemann Denies Using Sex Toys to Win: 'There’s Absolutely No Evidence'

The 20-year-old prodigy rejected claims he had used anal beads while playing chess during an interview with Piers Morgan

Hans Niemann, a 20-year-old chess prodigy, denies using a sex toy to beat opponents.

In an interview with Piers Morgan on his show Piers Morgan Uncensored, Monday, the young grandmaster was asked if he had ever used anal beads while playing. He told the 58-year-old host, “I can tell you, no. Categorically, no. There’s absolutely no evidence that I’ve ever cheated.”

Niemann is at the center of a cheating scandal that has rocked the chess world since 2022 when he was accused of cheating to win games by fellow player Magnus Carlsen. According to a report from CNN, online theories subsequently spread accusing the player of using vibrating anal beads during the match, alleging he used the beads to receive signals in order to guide him on the plays he should make. These allegations originated from social media although it's not clear what their specific source was, the outlet reported.

"It's very disheartening to be accused of cheating after that victory. These things happen and I managed to learn a lot during that time and it really taught me a lot of very important lessons about life and chess," Niemann added to Morgan.

Last year, Niemann filed a lawsuit against world chess champion Magnus Carlsen, among others, claiming he had been defamed and that they had "unlawfully [colluded] to blacklist him from the profession to which he has dedicated his life."

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"My lawsuit speaks for itself," he wrote on X — formerly known as Twitter — in October 2022 while sharing a copy of the suit.

However, his $100 million case was dismissed by a judge in June 2023, as reported by CNN. Lawyers for Chess.com subsequently told the outlet: “We are very pleased with the court’s order dismissing Hans Niemann’s claims. Our clients are happy to see an end to this saga, and are pleased that all parties can now focus on growing the game of chess."

Related: Teen Chess Grandmaster Hans Niemann 'Likely Cheated' in More Than 100 Online Matches, Report Finds

Niemann and Carlsen’s feud began in September 2022 when Niemann beat Carlsen at the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis. The defeat broke Carlsen’s 53-game winning streak in classical events and he soon quit the tournament.

But Carlsen, 32, implied that something untoward had taken place during the match when he tweeted a video that showed Portuguese soccer manager José Mourinho saying he preferred “not to speak” or he would face “big trouble." Carlsen's caption for the post stated that he had "withdrawn" from the tournament.

Related: Chess World Champ Magnus Carlsen Accuses 19-Year-Old Hans Niemann of Cheating After Controversy

After the allegations emerged and following a 2022 investigation by Chess.com, Niemann confessed to cheating in online games when he was 12 and 16. However, he denied cheating in the game against Carlsen or in any in-person game, as reported by U.K. newspaper The Guardian.

"I am not afraid to tell the world that I cheated as a 12-year-old and in some random games as a 16-year-old, because I know who I am," the player confessed. “Everything I have done for the past few years is to make up for that mistake and I hope that my results, commitment and hard work have shown that I have learnt my lesson.”

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