the world of Chess has a few years, if not decades, going through a relatively turbulent phase due to the incursion of artificial intelligence systems and automata that increasingly represent a greater challenge for professional players. Now to top it off, Elon Musk and the anal pearls arrive.
The closing sentence of the paragraph above may seem like it doesn’t make much sense, but in reality it would represent a concrete and sensible summary of the latest scandal in the world of professional chess.
Where an absolutely unexpected event has happened, followed by an abrupt reaction, quite cryptic tweets and a subsequent series of conspiracy theories where even Elon Musk himself ended up contributing.
Little is known with frank certainty about the story we are about to share with you, but it is a story that has grown to such a degree that it is worth sharing.
How a chess championship ended up involving anal pearls, an artificial intelligence and Elon Musk
our friends from I.F. Love Science have organized a timely account of this crooked story, which we will cross with the information from another report published by the tabloid of Meter.
It is in the fair balance of both sources that are so diametrically opposed that what is happening in that community devoted to the game of pieces can best be measured.
At the heart of the whole thing is a 19-year-old, Hans Niemann, who has managed to defeat the current world champion, Magnus Carlsen, who in each of his subsequent statements has hinted at an accusation that Niemann might be cheating.
The tweet that triggered the start of the theories is this one above where Carlsen on September 5, 2022 talked about why he left the game against Niemann. All very normal, until we play the video, where we see the Portuguese soccer coach, José Mourinho, saying: “I really prefer not to talk. If I talk, I’m in big trouble.”
In the world of professional chess, direct accusations that the opponent cheated without concrete evidence of the fact can lead to an almost permanent ban and serious additional sanctions.
So the message sparked speculation as it necessarily implies that the former champion is implying that the 19-year-old is cheating.
It was only a matter of time before the community speculated on how Niemann came out of nowhere as a rookie and outsider to advance through the heats straight to fight the world champion.
The most “solid” theory so far emerged from Reddit and states that the boy would be using anal beads that he keeps inserted in his body.
These pearls are assisted by an artificial intelligence that “telegraphs”, so to speak, the order of moves to be prevented or executed.
Obviously Elon Musk had to intervene and he did so through an already deleted tweet, where he altered a famous quote from Schopenhauer to adapt it to the situation:
“Talent hits a target no one else can hit, genius hits a target no one can see (because it’s on your ass).”
Until now Hans Niemann has denied any accusation, but now the general approach is that both should compete naked to validate the real talent of the young player.
The silence of my critics clearly speaks for itself. If there was any real evidence, why not show it? @GMHikaru you have continued to completely ignore my interview and is trying to sweep everything under the rug. Is anyone going to take accountability for the damage they’ve done?
— Hans Niemann (@HansMokeNiemann) September 7, 2022