After seeing the news about Hans Niemann suing chess Grandmasters Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, and Chess.com for slander and libel over their claims he cheated in various tournaments, Twitch streamer Andra Botez was as shocked as anyone.
“Wait, is he suing? Wow!” she said in disbelief during her Oct. 21 stream. “Wait! He is suing Hikaru too? Damn!”
As an avid chess player and a popular community member, Botez is glad she never “stepped into this drama.” But that didn’t stop her from saying she thinks the lawsuit is a power move.
“I guess Hikaru kind of stirred up a little bit of the insinuations at the beginning, but that is a bold move. I feel like this is honestly just a flex,” she said.
“I feel like even if the lawsuit fails, this is just like a big flex!”
Botez admitted she and her sister Alexandra “dodged a bullet” by staying out of it.
Niemann is seeking more than $100 million in damages “to recover from the devastating damages that defendants have inflicted upon his reputation, career, and life by egregiously defaming him and unlawfully colluding to blacklist him from the profession to which he has dedicated his life.”
The 19-year-old filed the lawsuit in Missouri, where the tournaments Carlsen first accused him of cheating in, the St. Louis Chess Club and the Sinquefield Cup, took place.
Chess.com dismissed the allegations. “There is no merit to Hans’ allegations, and Chess.com looks forward to setting the record straight on behalf of its team and all honest chess players,” said a lawyer on their behalf.
Carlsen and Nakamura have not yet released a statement to address the matter.
Published: Oct 20, 2022 08:42 pm