GM Hans Niemann

Hans Niemann is an American grandmaster and chess streamer. Niemann quickly rose through the ranks of chess, earning his FIDE master title in 2016, only four years after his first rated tournament where he had received a provisional US Chess rating of just 1122. He tied for first in the U-18 North American Youth Championship that same year. Niemann then went on to earn his international master title in 2018 and his grandmaster title in 2021. In July 2021, he won the U.S. Junior Championship.

Niemann's rating continued to increase throughout 2022 and he received an invitation to the 2022 Sinquefield Cup. In round three, Niemann reached a 2700 live rating, as well as a 2.5/3 score in the tournament, after he defeated GM Magnus Carlsen with the black pieces. Just before the next round, however, Carlsen withdrew from the tournament without explicitly providing a rationale. The speculation that followed Carlsen's withdrawal largely focused on possible fair play concerns over Niemann's recent performance in the Sinquefield Cup and elsewhere. 

The 2022 Sinquefield Cup continued with nine players and finished without further incident. Niemann ended up finishing tied for sixth, scoring 3.5/8. His win over Carlsen was ultimately excluded from the standings on account of Carlsen playing fewer than half his scheduled games. However, the result continued to count toward each player's rating.

Niemann's live rating was 2698.8 upon the conclusion of the tournament on September 11, 2022.

Niemann's play created another buzz in late 2023 when he scored 8/9 with a 2946 performance rating at the Tournament of Peace in Zagreb, Croatia, winning the event by three full points.

Niemann was a semifinalist in the 2024 Speed Chess Championship, defeating GMs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Wesley So before falling to Carlsen. He would finish fourth after dropping the consolation match to GM Hikaru Nakamura.