Teenage chess grandmaster Hans Niemann “likely cheated” in more than 100 online matches, including ones with prize money involved, according to an investigation by one of the sport’s most popular websites.The report said Chess.com closed Niemann’s account in September given his previous acknowledgments of cheating, suspicions about his recent play and concerns about the steep, inconsistent rise in his rank.Carlsen allegationsThe controversy began last month, when world chess champion Magnus Carlsen accused Niemann of cheating at the $350,000 Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis, Missouri.“His over the board progress has been unusual, and 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.And other than when I was 12 years old I have never cheated in a tournament with prize money.”According to the Chess.com report, cheating in an over the board setting could involve “various methods such as: hand signals from a nearby coach or accessing a phone in the bathroom, a hidden device in a shoe, or a wire or buzzer taped to the body.”The report said Chess.com had not typically investigated cheating in over the board games, but it believed Niemann’s performances in some live games “merit further investigation based on the data.”“In our view, there is no direct evidence that proves Hans cheated at the September 4, 2022 game with Magnus, or proves that he has cheated in other OTB games in the past,” the report said."