Teenage chess star Hans Niemann has offered to ‘strip naked’ in order to prove he’s not hiding anything after allegations of cheating.
The American 19-year-old was recently accused of cheating after he upset five-time world champion, Magnus Carlsen.
However, in an interview on Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube page the chess grandmaster pleaded his innocence.
He said: "Do any fair play checking you want, I don't care because I know that I'm clean.
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"They want me to strip fully naked? I'll do it. I don't care because I know I know that I'm clean and I'm willing to subject myself to what you want me to play."
Hey, we’re sure some naked chess would get a lot of new eyeballs on the sport.
Despite ensuring that the world knows that he’s not a professional cheat, Niemann did admit to some dastardly tactics when he was playing online chess as a kid.
He added: "I cheated on random games on Chess.com - I was confronted, I confessed.
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"This is the single biggest mistake of my life and I am completely ashamed, and I'm telling the world because I don't want misrepresentations and I don't want rumours."
He added: "I have never cheated in an over-the-board game."
The allegations kick-started at the Sinquefield Cup after world champ Carlsen pulled out of the tournament after his shock third-round loss defeat.
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He announced his withdrawal with a cryptic tweet that many believed alluded to the fact that he was accusing Niemann of foul play.
In his tweet, he attached a link to the iconic football coach Jose Mourinho’s press conference where he utters: "If I speak I am in big trouble."
Fellow grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura pretty much confirmed that fact on his Twitch channel, where he said: "I think Magnus probably believes Hans is cheating."
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Damn, who knew the sport of chess could be so spicy.
The accusations come despite the tournament implementing anti-cheating measures such as metal detectors and putting matches on a 15-minute broadcast delay.
In the fallout of the wild west of chess, Niemann has had his access to Chess.com revoked and has been uninvited from the Global Championship.
Niemann decided to take aim at the platform, saying: "Chess.com has suddenly decided to hop on Magnus's insinuations and Hikaru's very direct accusations. I believe this is completely unfair - this is a targeted attack."
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He added: "They know I am not a cheater and that I give everything to chess. I work so hard and chess is my entire life."
Hoo boy, who knew chess could be so dramatic. And don't worry, we'll keep you updated if everyone ditches their kit.
Featured Image Credit: hans_niemann/Instagram. Carlo Fornitano / Alamy.