NEW DELHI: Las Vegas is not only the city of neon dreams, poker tables clinking with chips, and stories of long odds paying off in dramatic finales, as you may’ve seen it in countless movie scenes. Many find it as the land of luck. But for American Grandmaster Hans Niemann, Las Vegas and luck had little to do with each other.The 22-year-old wasn’t meant to be here for the USA leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour. But now he is, defying both odds and optics to set up a blockbuster clash with Magnus Carlsen – and excuse the dramatics – his nemesis.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Just months ago, when Niemann had understandably shown keen interest in joining the Las Vegas party, he was told bluntly by the tournament’s organisers: “There’s no way we can invite you to Las Vegas unless you qualify.”After being given a surprise wildcard entry, he withdrew from the Paris leg of the tour last April, and that unexplained exit stirred new doubts.“I’m very happy because, of course, the media attention is over,” Freestyle Chess Grand Slam co-founder Jan Henric Buettner told TimesofIndia.com, reflecting on the Paris fallout.“As an organiser, I try to set the framework, make sure everyone is following the rules and behaving respectfully. But still, people should be themselves, show their character. Yes, Hans has taken on a bit of a bad boy character.”The label seems to fit. Ever since his emergence in the chess world and the scandal-fuelled standoff with Carlsen in 2022, Niemann has been at the centre of attention.Their rivalry traces back to September 2022, when Niemann stunned Carlsen at the Sinquefield Cup. The Norwegian withdrew from the tournament the next day, issuing a cryptic statement that hinted at foul play.In a subsequent online game, Carlsen resigned after one move. He later explicitly accused Niemann of cheating, a claim the American strongly denied.Chess.com published a report suggesting Niemann had likely cheated in over 100 online games. Niemann responded with a $100 million defamation lawsuit against Carlsen, Chess.com, and Hikaru Nakamura. Though the case was settled in 2023, the animosity lingered. FIDE, the global chess body, fined Carlsen for his Sinquefield Cup withdrawal but found no evidence of Niemann cheating in over-the-board games.Still, suspicion followed Niemann like a shadow, and when he pulled out of the Paris leg earlier this year, just days after posting “COMING SOON TO PARIS” on X, speculation returned in full force.Norwegian broadcaster TV 2 reported that heightened anti-cheating protocols spooked Niemann. Buettner confirmed those measures, the strictest in chess history, but refused to speculate on Niemann’s motives.Niemann, for his part, broke his silence weeks later: “I was deeply frustrated by the organisers’ and TV 2’s absurd speculation… The article falsely claimed that the last message I received referenced ‘enhanced measures’. To be absolutely clear, this is completely false… I withdrew for personal reasons that I prefer not to disclose publicly right now.”Whatever the actual reason, his absence from Paris left a sour taste, especially as his showdown with Carlsen was one of the tour’s biggest attractions.And yet, here he is. Denied an invite to the Las Vegas leg, Niemann took the only route available: qualification.He entered the online play-in, a gauntlet featuring names like Peter Svidler, Dmitry Andreikin, and Matthias Bluebaum and emerged triumphant.After advancing from the Swiss stage to the 16-player knockout, Niemann edged past top opponents to reach the final. There, he faced Denis Lazavik, and after a tense Armageddon decider, secured the draw with Black; it was all he needed to qualify.“He really promised, and he gave it everything,” Buettner told TimesofIndia.com. “You saw how close it was, all of it… We’re very happy. I’m assigning a very bright pink jacket to Hans.”
File photo of USA’s Hans Niemann. (Image: X)
The Las Vegas leg, scheduled from July 16 to 20, features 16 of the world’s top players, including Carlsen and Nakamura. Niemann now joins them as a gatecrasher who earned his spot under the brightest lights.Buettner seems to relish the drama, calling the potential Niemann vs Carlsen a clash of bad boys. “Even Magnus has acted like a bit of a bad boy; he was hitting the table, thrashing it (against D Gukesh in Norway Chess),” he said. “Maybe they’re learning from each other.”In one corner, Carlsen, five-time world champion and still the face of elite chess; in the other, Niemann, younger, louder, but undeniably talented.Whatever happens on the board, Niemann’s reappearance is already a story. In Vegas, where reputation is currency and drama is gold, the ‘Battle of the Baddies’ is on.
