He's admitted to cheating in the past. The Bayesian priors for him currently cheating are not the same as for other people.
I find the general holier-than-thou self-righteous attitude expressed by most armchair commenters extremely off putting.
That's what I see in your comments, haha.
Let the man protest. It appears to be quite effective. There is a long history of positive change coming from quiet, stubborn, non-violent protest outside the rules.
You absolutely can. Billions of people do it every single day for less reason.
> I find the general holier-than-thou self-righteous attitude expressed by most armchair commenters extremely off putting.
I find the crowd chanting evidence, evidence, evidence off putting.
From what I can find: "he did admit that he had cheated in the past – first as a 12-year-old when a friend gave him some help in an online tournament and then as a 16-year-old playing unrated games while he was streaming."
A 12-year old cheating in a tournament! We cannot ever trust this man!
Magnus Carlsen started playing at around age 5. Was in his first tournament at 8. Was winning and establishing a career in his teens. Was grand master in his early 20's.
So, cheating at 12 and 16 could equate to cheating now. That's only 3 or 7 years ago. Hans is 19.
The cheating when he was 16 was unrated, so that's less severe, but the same argument applies here really; how many 100% responsible 16 year olds do you know?
Should there be some consequences? Maybe? But people further upthread here are argueing for life-time bans, which seem ridiculously draconic for the actions of a teenager who can't buy alcohol or cigarettes, is below the age of consent for sexual activities, etc. in in many jurisdictions.
In my early teens I would shoplift for the fun of it and did some other things I'm not especially proud of today. That's been 30 years ago and I haven't stolen anything in just as many years (since I was 14 or 15).
I'm very uncomfortable writing off an entire person over actions they did as a teenager.
https://twitter.com/chesscom/status/1568010971616100352
>"Dear Chess Community,
>The last few days have been tumultuous for many in the chess community. At this time we have reached out to Hans Niemann to explain our decision to privately remove him from chess.com and our events. We have shared detailed evidence with him concerning our decision, including information that contradicts his statements regarding the amount and seriousness of his cheating on Chess.com. We have invited Hans to provide an explanation and response with the hope of finding a resolution where Hans can again participate on Chess.com. We want nothing more than to see the best chess players in the world succeed in the greatest events. We will always act to protect the integrity of the game that we all love."
Hans Niemann is not being honest.
* His blitz/rapid ratings went up just as much as his classical ratings. Cheating in OTB blitz is much harder, so you would expect his blitz rating to stay roughly the same if his recent rise was due to cheating.
* Ken Regan is generally the most trusted authority of cheating detection (you can find his papers online, his methodology is rigorous), and he says there is no evidence of Hans cheating OTB.
* AFAIK no strong player has described the game between Hans and Carlsen as suspicious. Even the (increasingly rare) ones that are fully on Magnus' side.