Chess: Niemann puts controversy aside and wins $50,000 first prize in Warsaw

US grandmaster scored biggest success of his career at the Grand Chess Tour Rapid & Blitz and is close to world top 10 Hans Niemann, the controversial US grandmaster whose game with Magnus Carlsen at the 2022 Sinquefield Cup led to cheating allegations, a $100m lawsuit, an out-of-court settlement, the Netflix documentary Untold: Chess Mates, and a forthcoming book, scored the most important success of his career last weekend. Niemann, competing as a wildcard, won the $50,000 (£37,400) first prize at the Warsaw Rapid and Blitz in Poland, ahead of the US champion and world No 3, Fabiano Caruana, India’s reigning world champion, Gukesh Dommaraju, and the Candidates winner, Javokhir Sindarov. The event was part of the St Louis-backed Grand Chess Tour, which ends in August and includes the prestigious Sinquefield Cup. Continue reading...

Leonard Barden · Fri, May 15, 2026, 12:00 AM
US news | The Guardian

Chess: Niemann puts controversy aside and wins $50,000 first prize in Warsaw

US grandmaster scored biggest success of his career at the Grand Chess Tour Rapid & Blitz and is close to world top 10

Hans Niemann, the controversial US grandmaster whose game with Magnus Carlsen at the 2022 Sinquefield Cup led to cheating allegations, a $100m lawsuit, an out-of-court settlement, the Netflix documentary Untold: Chess Mates, and a forthcoming book, scored the most important success of his career last weekend.

Niemann, competing as a wildcard, won the $50,000 (£37,400) first prize at the Warsaw Rapid and Blitz in Poland, ahead of the US champion and world No 3, Fabiano Caruana, India’s reigning world champion, Gukesh Dommaraju, and the Candidates winner, Javokhir Sindarov. The event was part of the St Louis-backed Grand Chess Tour, which ends in August and includes the prestigious Sinquefield Cup.

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