ST. LOUIS — The Saint Louis Chess Club announced on Friday that Hans Niemann, the grandmaster accused of cheating at a 2022 chess tournament held at the club, will not be invited to any of the club's invitational tournaments in 2024.
Niemann faced cheating allegations after defeating the top player in the world, Magnus Carlsen, in the 2022 Sinquefield Cup held at the Saint Louis Chess Club.
Allegations mounted as online chess platform Chess.com alleged in a report that Niemann had likely cheated in more than 100 matches played on the website.
Niemann went on to file a defamation suit against the platform, seeking more than $100 million in damages. The suit was dismissed by a federal judge in June 2023, and Chess.com announced in August that both parties had "resolved their differences" and were "moving forward without further litigation."
The Saint Louis Chess Club said in a statement that its decision to cut ties with Niemann "demonstrated inappropriate behavior including damaging private property, rude comments, and an uncooperative attitude resulting in a failure to fulfill contractual obligations.
"This decision was not made lightly and we hope this serves as an opportunity for GM Hans Niemann to experience personal reflection and growth. We will reevaluate this determination for events in future years, assuming notable progress is achieved."
The Sinquefield Cup was one of the six major events that made up the 2022 Grand Chess Tour.
The Saint Louis Chess Club faced another scandal last year following sexual assault allegations against a former club employee.
Chess.com announced in August that it would no longer support events staged by the club "for the forseeable future" as a result of how the club handled the allegations, the St. Louis Business Journal reported.
