But thanks to the Speed Chess Championships round-of-16 bracket, Carlsen will now face Niemann in the semifinals of the event on September 6. Carlsen defeated chess grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi in the quarterfinals, while Niemann defeated grandmaster Wesley So to reach that spot. The winner of the match between Carlsen and Niemann will advance to the title match to compete for the top spot and their share of the $175,000 prize pool in Paris, France.
Given the history, the Carlsen-Niemann showdown will be one of the most anticipated matches in the Speed Chess Championship; the feud goes beyond just accusations on social media. A month after that accusation on X, Niemann went a step further and filed a $100 million lawsuit against Carlsen, arguing that the cheating allegations were defamatory; he also alleged that chess platform Chess.com colluded with Carlsen to ban him from the site and its events.
Will he get there? It’s hard to say. But what is certain is that Carlsen and Niemann will both want to make a statement on the chessboard at the Speed Chess Championship in September. Polygon has reached out to Carlsen and Niemann for comment.