Chennai Grand Masters | Hans Niemann takes a dig at D Gukesh
Grandmaster Hans Niemann criticized world champion D. Gukesh and Ding Liren, claiming they are not the world's best players despite their titles. Niemann also questioned the current World Championship format's ability to identify the strongest player.
Why it matters
Niemann's controversial remarks spark debate within the professional chess community regarding ranking systems and player performance.
American Grandmaster Hans Niemann is known more for controversies than his exploits on the board.
He was involved in a public feud with World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen over the cheating allegations levelled against him by the Norwegian. Despite his achievements and avowed ambition to become the best player on the planet, his straight-talking seems to put him in a spot more often than not.
After the end of the Chennai Grand Masters here, the 23-year-old took a dig at reigning World champion D. Gukesh and his predecessor Ding Liren, saying that they had never been the best players in spite of winning the game’s top prize.
“The main reason we’ve seen Ding and Gukesh do poorly is that they were never the best players in the world. Not even close to it,” Niemann said on Wednesday.
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