'I really like his chess, not his personality': Russia No 1 Nepo on Hans Niemann remarks 'FIDE must punish'

Ian Nepomniachtchi and Hans Niemann BENGALURU: Ian Nepomniachtchi, also known as ‘Nepo’, has no doubts about Hans Niemann’s skills on the board. Beyond that, however, the Russian grandmaster remains less than impressed.In response to Niemann’s recent call for FIDE to punish players who publicly accuse or berate, especially young players, Nepomniachtchi said the US grandmaster “can’t stop playing the victim card”.“First of all, Hans can’t stop playing the victim card. He pretty much lives in that skin. I think there was a fair reason, from his online appearances for many years, as far as I know, to be wary of Hans himself,” Nepo, the Russian No. 1 player, told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interaction on the sidelines of the Global Chess League (GCL).Despite the friction, Nepomniachtchi feels that Niemann has established himself as a strong player. “As for Hans right now, he has proven to be a very good and formidable player. I really like the way he plays chess, even though I don’t like his personality. He plays quite well as a chess player and is quite good in certain openings,” he added.At the same time, Nepo also believes that Niemann will quickly seize the opportunity to provoke a reaction. “Whenever he has an opportunity to bite someone and look for a reaction, he immediately does it. Maybe for him it’s good for his overall image,” he said.When compared to mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor, he said Niemann appeared to have adopted a similarly controversial image in chess.“Conor McGregor has the nickname ‘The Notorious’ in MMA. Hans is definitely trying to be a notorious chess player. So he does,” said Nepomniachtchi.

Which caused Hans to react

The comments come after Niemann criticized Nepomniachtchi for remarks made during an online game against 14-year-old Canadian chess player Aaron Mendes.Mendes defeated Nepomniachtchi in the 10th round of the Titled Tuesday tournament on September 1. During his stream, Nepomniachtchi questioned Mendes’ decision to play an en passant capture instead of a check.“I wouldn’t have any suspicions about this game, but his en passant instead of a check leaves a bad taste. Why? How? For what? Aaron, my friend… Fortunately, we won’t play Aaron again in the tournament because we’ve already learned from him,” said Nepomniachtchi.Niemann subsequently called on FIDE to crack down on players who accuse or berate publicly, especially when it comes to young players.“FIDE must punish players for public accusations and innuendos, especially when it comes to a 14-year-old,” Niemann wrote on X, adding that genuine concerns should instead be taken to the FIDE Ethics Commission.

Nepo in Hans Niemann’s documentary “Untold: Chess Mates”.

Asked about the Netflix documentary “Untold: Chess Mates,” which revisits the cheating controversy surrounding Niemann, Nepomniachtchi said it didn’t reveal much new for him.“I was kind of inside. I was playing the same tournament. I didn’t learn anything new. Some of it was more or less obvious,” he revealed.“Everything was on the surface. But the biggest disappointment about the documentary is that there is no answer. I expected it as a normal chess fan.”Also read: 8 months, flights from Moscow to Munich, but now he is “tired”: Ian Nepomniachtchi’s tattoo behind Russia #1For those who want to learn about chess, Nepomniachtchi had one more recommendation. “If you want to learn about chess, I’d rather recommend watching ‘The Queen of Chess’ about Judit Polgar. That was amazing.”