Ian Nepomniachtchi lost the rapid playoff match to Alireza Firouzja finishing second in the Sinquefield Cup 2022. After the first game of the playoffs finished in a draw, Nepo blundered a piece in the game two and the match finished with 1.5-0.5 result in favor of Firouzja. See the final report & results here
After the match, Ian Nepomniachtchi posted in his official twitter account: “A sad end to a sad tournament. However, I would prefer to play with an even number of participants and in a more relaxed and trusting atmosphere. Congrats to Alireza Firouzja with a fine performance!“
After Hans Niemann defeated the World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen in the third round of the Sinquefield Cup 2022, Carlsen withdrew from the event giving no detailed explanations. Carlsen’s results got annulled and the event continued with 9 players. Rumors that Magnus Carlsen suspected Niemann was cheating started spreading over social media, and each day brings new theories on the case. New allegations on Niemann – Carlsen case that Hans Niemann performs much better with live DGT boards emerged yesterday, while GM Nigel Davies had another take on the story, asking the FIDE Ethics Commission to act. Alexei Shirov shared his insights on the case saying that Niemann’s case gets worse and worse as his last GM norm looks suspicious.
See the timetable of happenings related to Niemann – Carlsen case: