Hans Niemann
An American grandmaster and streamer who reached a career-high world No. 12 in May 2026. Niemann earned the grandmaster title in 2021 and won the World Open in Philadelphia that summer.
He became widely known in 2022, when he beat Magnus Carlsen at the Sinquefield Cup. Carlsen and Chess.com accused him of cheating. He acknowledged having cheated in online games when he was younger but denied ever cheating over the board, and sued Carlsen, Chess.com and others for $100 million. The case was settled in 2023.
He returned to top-level events after reconciling with both, and in 2025 reached the final of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Las Vegas.
Career highlights
- Career-high world No. 12 in May 2026
- Won the 2021 World Open
- Peak rating 2742 (May 2026)
- Grandmaster since 2021
Hans Niemann in The Chess Herald
- So Draws Niemann in Under an Hour, One Round From a Fourth Title
- So Beats Woodward in a Pawn Ending, Leads Caruana by a Point
- So Takes Sole Lead on 5/7 as Liang Falls in 27 Moves
- Caruana and Liang Join a Four-Way Lead After Round 6
- Woodward Beats Caruana as Eight of 12 Games Are Decisive
Show all 18 articles
- Caruana Joins So in the Lead as Liang Falls to Xiong
- Woodward and Shankland Win as So and Liang Stay Level at 2.5
- So and Liang Lead Open at 2/2, Bottom Seeds Top the Women
- Caruana Chases a Fifth Straight US Title, and Reshevsky's Record
- Caruana Heads a 12-Player U.S. Championship Field in Saint Louis
- Uzbekistan Retakes the Lead as So Stuns Sindarov
- Total Chess Fills Its 24-Player Field With Six More Signings
- Germany Stuns Top-Seeded USA as Uzbekistan Routs Hungary
- Eight Teams Still Perfect After Four Rounds in Samarkand
- Argentina's 28th Seed Shocks Ukraine at Samarkand
- Liang's Shock Loss and Montenegro's Draw Rattle Samarkand
- Erigaisi Falls, but India's Bench Holds at Samarkand
- Hans Niemann's Return to the Chess.com Broadcast Comes With a Trophy Attached
FIDE profile · Wikipedia
Profile last reviewed September 29, 2026. Ratings update monthly from FIDE.