The ugly side of chess is pored over in this Netflix documentary, looking at how lurid online gossip led to a lawsuit, conspiracy theories and a bitter rivalry. Sadly, there’s little new here
‘E
very conversation I have about chess”, says Hans Niemann, “leads to anal beads.” In any other context that might seem something of a non-sequitur. But in the context of Niemann, it makes a lot of sense. For the uninitiated, Niemann was the chess prodigy accused in 2022 of cheating against world champion Magnus Carlsen – some said by using a vibrating sex toy to direct his play, leading him to a shock (pun intended) victory.
As ridiculous as it sounds – the sort of thing that would be laughed out of the Black Mirror writers’ room – the theory gained ground online, and in the press. This Netflix one-off draws heavily on archive footage ridiculing the incident, featuring everyone from Piers Morgan to Trevor Noah, who quips that, with anal beads, “even if you lose, you still kinda win”.
Untold: Chess Mates retreads the story of the media furore, and the bitter rivalry that has since festered between Niemann and Carlsen. Niemann was the young American upstart who got his big break playing chess online, and who says things such as, “What price do we pay for genius?!” while staring straight into the camera lens. Carlsen, from Norway, has a talent for damning Niemann with faint praise, and remains totally incredulous that his rival could have beaten him without cheating: Niemann, he says, was merely “trying to cosplay as a top chess player”.
