Chess grandmaster Hans Niemann denies using vibrating sex toy to cheat

TheJims@lemmy.world to Not The Onion@lemmy.world – 243 points –
Chess grandmaster Hans Niemann denies using vibrating sex toy to cheat
bbc.com
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I don't know for certain if he deserves it or not, but this guy will always be known as the guy accused of using a buttplug to cheat at chess. There's no escaping it at this point.

I honestly feel bad for him. He's always gonna be associated with this meme. I don't blame Magnus for not wanting to play with a known former cheater, but there's a solid chance that Niemann's win against him was legitimate.

Niemann is a known cheater. He cheated tons of times. Whether he cheated against Magnus or not (I believe he did, but Magnus did make some mistakes in that game as well) doesn't change how I feel about the accusations.

Niemann earned the reputation of a cheater... by cheating... a lot. I don't care if he was 16 during the confirmed incidents of cheating. That's well old enough to understand what's happening. And he's really not that much older now. It wasn't that long ago. He should live with the consequences of his actions.

I don't think using sex toys in a relationship is cheating tbh.

Depends who’s controlling it.

NSA: giggles from their desk as they tunnel into lovense and control this guys toy and ruin his entire career

Open communication is key.

If my partner told me upfront that they want to use a vibrator, I'd personally be fine with that. But if they did it secretly, it would call into question our entire history. A good relationship is built on trust and an honest representation of each person's Elo rating.

Lol, this story is still going? Didn't this whole thing blow up like 8 months ago or something?

I heard that there was a lawsuit and they settled, so why did this come back

How does that even work???

My guess would be it buzzes Morse code on what moves to play.

I read another article that said a lot of cheaters do consult software that will suggest good moves. I’m just wondering how you get a sex toy to transmit the data about all the pieces on the board and request it back. Is he squeezing a butt plug with his anus in Morse code with the positions of every piece? Is there a network attached device connected to pick up the signal and send a request to an API and return the Morse code to his butthole? If he can do all that, IMO that’s even more impressive than being an elite chess player

You're missing the more obvious possibility. Someone else is recording the game, inputting the moves, and sending the commands to vibrate. Player only needs to interpret.

This is why many tournaments are broadcast with a delay. I mean not just for buttplugs, but an earpiece or any other way of getting third-party assistance.

What in the over engineered word salad is this? It was made up in the first place by a sore loser.

There's no need for something that complex.
Someone with access to a chess engine watches the game and inputs the moves into the engine as they're played. If there's a critical move (only 1 or very few of the options are winning/don't throw the game) they send a simple signal to let him know. That can be enough to give you an advantage at that level. If you really want, you could send a number between 1 and 6 to represent which piece the engine prefers to move, but it's likely not necessary.

That said, all the evidence he actually did anything like that is at best circumstantial (mostly statistical evidence supposedly showing how unlikely his performance was given his past performance and rating at the time, as well as known instances of past cheating by him - though the only confirmed ones were several years ago when he was still a kid and online rather than in person).

Holy shit, this was a real thing?! So that's where It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia got the idea!

@Decoy321 @TheJims It was definitely a real controversy for months a while back. He won and his opponent iirc accused him of having a vib to help him cheat.

General concensus is that it's unlikely. The sheet complexity of communicating movements via vib patterns alone makes it a stretch.

Plus... ya know: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWCDc4I0cSQ

Wasn't the accusation that he had a device in his shoe, and the buttplug thing was just a joke that got out of hand?

@Pietson @TheJims @Decoy321 that wasn't what I heard but I didn't look too too far into it. I read a few of the light articles that discussed the viability of the butt plug cheat device, but aside from that I didn't really go back to the source or anything.

Why do your comments tag anyone remotely involved in this?

Looking back at this. This whole thing was a wild ride. Magnus took being a sore loser to another level.

Grade A asshole

Known cheater plays a perfect game as black against a world champion who has never lost as white in decades. Grade A asshole, yep.

https://youtu.be/5uDM3fPeNFM?si=VASdcNJQwOwLFEMa

Perfect is a bit of a stretch. There was a tiny chance of Niemann winning that match, but smarter folk than I have analyzed the game and said that it was consistent with legitimate play

If your dumb enough to believe the reddit meme about a vibrating butt plug being how he cheated, seriously reconsider your life

Reddit meme? You mean the explicit statement/accusation by Magnus Carlson himself on Twitter, and the youtube video I linked that shows exactly how its possible with little effort?

The good people of the internet can't do all the reading and video watching for you - Most of have lives, but can still be bothered to look into whether we should open our mouths with some dismissive bullshit. What's your excuse?

Help is out there, you just have to reach out.

Maybe consider something like this?

Getting help can be hard, but your stronger than you think, I know you can do it!

I don't know anything about the chess drama, but it really doesn't matter who you are, don't publicly shame when you could do it privately.

It's kinda hard to privately resign from a match and refuse to play in a tournament because you think an opponent is cheating

I mean people would know something's up, but I was thinking silence would be a good option until some evidence could be produced

You're misunderstanding/misrepresenting the historical/societal role of shame. Its not just a personal feeling to be felt, or more likely feigned, nor is it something one person is capable of imparting to another who is not already inclined towards it.

One's elders do not wait for friends and family to leave the room before calling out shamefull acts, nor would doing so serve any purpose.

I lost all respect I had for Magnus Carlsen when he couldnt just accept his loss akd instead sent his hate brigade against Niemann

First of all, all he did was refuse to play the guy. He then said he can't talk about it or else it'll mean legal trouble. Second of all, there has been an investigation into Nieman that has shown he is a cheater in online play. He also admitted to cheating previously.

So no, this isn't "Magnus lost and couldn't accept it". It is "known cheater loses the entire tournament and gets downright bullied, till they reach the world champion, where they play a perfect game".

at this point if people dont know the actual story from both sides its safe to say theyre just trying to follow an edgy bandwagon so idk if your logic is gonna help them