Magnus Carlsen's cheating allegations against Niemann 'came from pace of genuine suspicion': Caruana

Fabiano Caruana has defended Magnus Carlsen over his cheating allegations against Hans Niemann that featured in a recent documentary on the infamous scandal from 2022. The 2026 Netflix documentary Untold: Chess Mates created a new storm after many felt that world No 1 Carlsen overplayed his hand while accusing Niemann of using unfair means during an over-the-board game.

Carlsen's accusations after the Sinquefield Cup 2022 led to Niemann becoming an outcast in the chess world and filing a lawsuit against the five-time world champion. Carlsen and Niemann later settled the matter outside the court, but the controversy reared its head again earlier this month, in April, when Netflix released the documentary on the incident.

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While the documentary did not reveal anything new, a section of fans felt that Nieman was hard done as Carlsen and other parties involved in the case were unable to prove the cheating accusations.

Caruana backs Carlsen after Netflix documentary 

Amid all the noise, world No 3 Caruana has defended Carlsen, saying that the chess star must have made the allegations based on a strong hunch and not on a whim.

"If we're talking about Magnus' Involvement and culpability...it's clear that it came from a place of genuine suspicion," Caruana said.

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Caruana added that Carlsen also faced "trouble" due to the allegations he made, but he still did that because of what he felt.

"People might have a problem with that, but honestly, you can't really control whether you're suspicious or not. You can control if you act on it, and he did act on it...which caused him more trouble than he probably wanted."

Meanwhile, Niemann has been extremely critical of Carlsen ever since the release of the documentary. In a recent podcast appearance, Niemann accused Carlsen of having a 'god complex' and also questioned how he can remain the No 1 in Fide classical rating despite hardly featuring in the format in recent years.