Did Magnus Carlsen pull out of Sinquefield Cup over Hans Niemann's cheating allegations?

Current World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen on Monday left everyone in shock after deciding to pull out of a major tournament for the first time in his career. The Norwegian left the Sinquefield Cup with reports emerging that his opponent cheated against him to win the match. Carlsen withdrawal from the event, was announced by the player in a tweet with a video of José Mourinho saying: “If I speak I am in big trouble. Big, big trouble.”

How did Hans Niemann cheating episode came into light?

According to a Guardian report, Hans Niemann cheating incident was revealed by American grandmaster and popular streamer Hikaru Nakamura. As per the report, Nakamura while speaking about Magnus Carlsen's withdrawal stated that the world champion would not do it without good reason. “Magnus would never do this in a million years. He just doesn’t do that. He’s the ultimate competitor, he’s a world champion." He added, "He wouldn’t do this unless he really strongly believes Hans is cheating with a very strong conviction. I think he just thinks Hans is just cheating, straight out.”

Sinquefield Cup: Hans Niemann admits to cheating in chess but as a kid 

While Fox Sports has reported about, Hans Niemann admitted to cheating as kid in an online tournament when he was 12 years old. Th player himself shared a clip in which he can be heard saying, “I was just a child. I have never ever in my life cheated in an over-the-board game. I am proud of myself that I learned from my mistake.I have given everything to chess.”

Besides cheating as a kid, Niemann admitted to cheating at other times on the chess.com website. He said, “I wanted to gain some rating so I could play stronger players, so I cheated in random games in chess.com. I was confronted, and I confessed. It was the single biggest mistake of my life and I am completely ashamed.”

Replying to Nakamur's allegation, Niemann tweeted, "Hikaru has thoroughly enjoyed watching all of my interviews and enjoyed criticizing every single detail and making frivolous implications. I'd like to see him watch my entire interview today and see what he has to say.

Hans Niemann tweet following the victory over Magnus Carlsen 

After Magnus Carlsen's withdrawal news had gone viral on Monday, Hans who gained points following his win over Carlsen tweeted, "This is truly a humbling day for me. I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to play chess at the highest level and live out my dreams. A few years ago, my chess dreams were quickly dwindling but thankfully they rose from the dead. This is only the beginning..."