Will You Believe Magnus or Hans?

   Will you believe world champion Magnus Carlsen or will you believe Hans Niemann, for this is perhaps the greatest scandal in the history of chess.

   It was Sept. 4 when the 19-year-old Niemann defeated Carlsen, ending Carlsen's 53-match unbeaten streak. Rare is it that anyone defeats Carlsen. He is the reigning five-time world champion whose accomplishments include notching the  highest chess rating in history. The best player the world has ever known? It would be hard to say he isn't.

  Then along comes this kid who was a relative nobody at age 15, but broke through just two years later to become a grandmaster. He is an admitted cheater, but says he has put that behind him. No more, he says.

   "I believe that Niemann has cheated more -- and more recently than he has publicly admitted," Carlsen said on Twitter, further shocking an already shocked chess world. One must be careful to accuse another of cheating. FIDE, the international governing body for chess, has rules against making unfounded complaints against others. "The rules are meant to deter players from accusing others without concrete evidence," warned a FIDE official. "Mr. Carlsen's statement did not include evidence to support his accusation."

   Or did he? Did Carlsen provide evidence. “Throughout our game in the Sinquefield Cup I had the impression that he wasn’t tense or even fully concentrating on the game in critical positions, while outplaying me as black in a way I think only a handful of players can do,” Carlsen said.

  Although Carlsen did not make mention of it, Many of Niemann's moves matched what a computer would make if it were making the moves.

   Oh -- forgot to mention -- shortly after Niemann defeated Carlsen, he defeated him, again. This time, it was in an online tournament. Carlsen, perhaps sensing a cheat coming on,  resigned before making his second move.

   So, who will you believe -- the chess icon or the chess upstart.