When world number one Magnus Carlsen (pictured with actress Liv Tyler), 31, lost to abrasive American teenager Hans Niemann earlier this month, it sparked a whirlwind of cheating theories.
San Francisco-born Hans Niemann, a relative newcomer to the sport, rocked the chess world when he beat grandmaster Magnus Carlsen over the weekend, a 31-year-old Norwegian player.
Teenager became a chess Grandmaster at age 17 after teaching himself the game at age eight dailymail.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymail.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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A young American talent
As stated at the US Chess Champs website, Hans Niemann started playing chess at a Leonardo School when he was 8 years old and living in the Netherlands. He moved back to California at the end of 2012 and his rating quickly jumped from 1000 to 2200 in his two years there, where he became the youngest player to ever win the long-standing Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club Tuesday Night Marathon (the oldest US Chess Club, founded in 1855).
The 17-year-old talent is having a great run at the Sunway Sitges tournament near Barcelona, as he has so far collected 6½ points after 9 rounds. His great performance is enough to meet all the requirements to receive the grandmaster title!