Hans Moke Niemann was born in San Francisco, California, moving to the Netherlands at the age of seven for a few years before returning to the US and eventually graduating from Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School, which is known for its chess culture. At the 2015 National Open Niemann, then 11, became the last person to play a rated game against GM Walter Browne, who died shortly after the tournament. Browne won in 35 moves.
After winning his first six games, Niemann finished third at the 2018 U16 Olympiad in Konya, Turkey. In December 2018 he won the National K-12 Blitz Championships with a clean score of 12-0.1436 Three days later he went on to tie for first in his grade in the overall K-12 Grade Championships,37 while also tying for first in the bughouse duo,38 achieving a perfect win.11
On March 1, 2019, Niemann first entered the Top 100 Junior players list on position 88. In June 2019, Niemann won the inaugural ChessKid Games hosted by chess.com, accruing 20 straight victories and qualifying for the 2020 Junior Speed Chess Championship. He achieved his third and final GM norm at the Charlotte Chess Center & Scholastic Academy (CCCSA GM Norm Invitational) in October 2020, placing first. FIDE awarded him the title on January 22, 2021.
In July 2021, Niemann finished first in the World Open after beating John Burke in a tiebreak playoff. He also achieved a FIDE rating over 2600 for the first time. Later that month, Niemann won the U.S. Junior Championship, thereby qualifying for the 2022 U.S. Chess Championship. As of November 2021, his world ranking was ninth among juniors and 124th overall.
Niemann's third-round win against World Champion Magnus Carlsen in the Sinquefield Cup (2022), and its aftermath, sparked worldwide controversy, even in the popular media. The day after the loss, Carlsen withdrew from the tournament, an extraordinary action in a premier round-robin event. Carlsen announced his withdrawal in an enigmatic tweet in which he indicated that he would get in trouble if he said more. This was widely interpreted as an insinuation that Niemann had cheated. Niemann responded with an impassioned interview in which he denied ever having cheated in over-the-board chess, although he admitted having done so several years earlier in online chess. Extensive analysis of Carlsen vs Niemann, 2022, including by anti-cheating expert IM Kenneth Regan, found no evidence that Niemann had cheated. Two weeks later, Carlsen resigned a game against Niemann after just one move. Carlsen later gave an interview in which he stated that he believes that Niemann has cheated more often and more recently than he has admitted.
Chess.com published a report in which it stated that Niemann had likely cheated in over 100 games on its website, including prize-money events. In response, Niemann filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against Carlsen, chess.com and Hikaru Nakamura. On June 27, 2023, a federal judge dismissed the case. On August 28, 2023, Niemann, Carlsen and chess.com announced they had reached a settlement, whose terms included Niemann being fully reinstated on chess.com and able to participate in their events, Carlsen agreeing to play him when paired, and all parties agreeing not to pursue further legal action.
Niemann won the Tournament of Peace (2023) by three points, scoring 8-1 and achieving a 2946 performance rating.
Reference: https:https://www.twitch.tv/GMHansN
Wikipedia article: Hans Niemann
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