A new Netflix documentary, Chess Mates, revisits the bizarre cheating scandal that rocked the chess world in 2022, centring on a rumour involving anal beads. The film opens with Piers Morgan asking grandmaster Hans Niemann: 'Have you ever used anal beads while playing chess?' Niemann, then 19, had just defeated world No 1 Magnus Carlsen at the Sinquefield Cup, sparking suspicions of foul play.
Carlsen withdrew from the tournament, and online sleuths proposed that Niemann could have used vibrating anal beads to receive moves from a chess engine. Niemann denies over-the-board cheating, but the rumour persists. 'I'll always be associated with anal beads,' he complains in the film.
The documentary contrasts Carlsen's aristocratic modesty with Niemann's brash, influencer-style persona. Niemann, who built a following on Twitch, is seen boasting: 'I'm a god, sit down.' Carlsen observes: 'It felt like he was cosplaying at being a chess master.' Niemann admits to cheating online as a child but insists he has never cheated in person.
Niemann later sued Carlsen and chess.com, but the case was settled. He remains bitter, accusing a 'chess mafia' of conspiring against him. The film frames the rivalry as a classic clash of personalities, akin to Borg v McEnroe or Prost v Senna, making for compelling viewing despite the unsavoury details.
