The Tata Steel is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world of chess. Undoubtedly a great opportunity to face difficult rivals in a demanding tournament. That is why it is striking that the young American talent Hans Moke Niemann is not present in this 2023 edition. Here we tell you the reasons why the player will not attend the tournament.
Many specialists describe Tata Steel as the “Roland Garros of chess”. It has been played since 1938 (except in 1945 because of the war). Many of the best in history have played in it, including world champions such as: Max Euwe, Tigran Petrosian, Boris Spaski, Mikhail Botvinnik, Mikhail Tal, Anatoli Karpov, Vladimir Kramnik, Gari Kasparov, Viswanathan Anand, Veselin Topalov, and of course the last champion, Magnus Carlsen.
The 2023 edition of this tournament will be characterized by including many young talents, such as Gukesh, 16; Praggnanandhaa, 17, Vincent Keymer and Nodirbek Abdusattorov, 18; and Arjun Erigaisi, 19. 5 of the 14 contestants are players under the age of 20, which makes Niemann’s absence all the more surprising.
Niemann out the 2023 Tata Steel tournament
Another young talent who will also not be at this tournament is Alireza Firouzja, who fell out with the event organizers after a controversial finale to the 2021 tournament. Niemann’s case, however, has been much worse, as it is a problem that started. at the 2022 Sinquefield Cup, in which Magnus Carlsen accused the American of cheating.
Since then, other GMs have shown their distrust of Niemann, the most notable being Hikaru Nakamura. In addition, the Chess.com website published a report on alleged cheating in online games by the young American, who in turn filed a defamation lawsuit.
According to the Chess24.com website: “Hans Niemann claimed in his $100 million lawsuit (which he brought against Carlsen, Nakamura, and Chess.com, among others) that negotiations with the organizers stopped after the events in St. Louis.”