Did Hans Niemann cheat? | Hikaru Nakamura and Lex Fridman

Full podcast episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJNvxYEcVAY Lex Fridman podcast channel: youtube.com/lexfridman Guest bio: Hikaru Nakamura is a chess super grandmaster and is currently the #1 ranked blitz chess player in the world. He is also one of the top chess streamers on Twitch and YouTube.

They should hold chess tournaments inside an MRI machine

I can confirm he cheated. I was in his ass giving him the answers the whole tournament.

Hikaru is a grand master, at dodging legal issues, chess too

As a chess fan, I will no longer trust the results unless super GMs pass through full body scanners and play naked with a virtual audience.

Its a year later. Can we get an update?

The simple answer, obviously, is to build giant faraday cages around the chess boards. And it would probably be best to lock the players in them too. And poke them with long shafts from time to time.

Hikaru is a very precise player that likes to imagine games how an equal opponent would behave or should behave and he pretty much said Hans going too far 😂

The way Lex did that ‘The Office’ look at cam moment when he asked the Data Scientist question! Really got me 😂

Hikaru's speech is absolutely Lucid. Very good to see thoughtful analysis and contemplation in a world of emotional outbursts and irrational thinking.

one thing for sure is if someone cheats at something before the chances that they will again are exponentially higher than those who never cheat. It could be that the guy just cant vocalize his strategy but is still good at chess. Or he cheats and appears unexceptional.

You can tell Hikaru’s lawyer told him to stop speaking about it, at least not make new allegations and whatnot. Hikaru is a US citizen, contrary to Magnus, so I guess he cares a little more about the defamation lawsuit.

It's borderline impossible to catch a cheater with out finding a device or irrefutable proof of signaling, especially if they're cheating intelligently. Using an engine doesn't necessarily mean "playing the best moves", you can program an engine to play at any strength you want or only use it sporadically. If the player is actually 2500+ strength catching them is exponentially harder because they can explain difficult positions and already have a deep understanding of tactics/strategy. Professionals are actually going to have to play in a faraday cage or some other means of jamming/electronic interference.

1 year on, and Hans has been very inconsistent since this debacle. The chess has indeed spoken for itself, and he is quite a 2650-rated player. Should be 2750 now based on the sudden trajectory growth we were seeing, but he has most definitely stagnated.

Here’s the thing, they are saying it’s either he 1) became super good out of nowhere 2) cheated or 3) he literally got lucky as hell by guessing/stumbling upon moves using a pattern that can only be described as machine like. In other words, this dude went level 6 -7 to level 10++ and literally when asked how he improved so much, he said “the chess speaks for itself” But in this case , his chess was saying “machine”

It’s 12 months later… so did he cheat?

I feel like if delayed the moves played by 1 to spectators and have the two players in a solitary area in person with each other, maybe it could reduce the chance of cheating

Those curly locks could hold atleast two knights and a bishop. Maybe even two or three pawns. Wouldn't put it past him to pull the old yawn and ruffle to tuck a rook from behind the ear.

Can you try getting an interview with Hans, if that's possible? Would love to get insights from the man himself

Hot Tub Chess matches for budget security measures and elevated entertainment value is what I'd suggest for tournaments