cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/8312774

Last September, a scandal in St. Louis rocked the chess world. Magnus Carlsen, a 31-year-old Norwegian grandmaster, implied Hans Niemann, a 19-year-old prodigy from San Francisco, had cheated during the Sinquefield Cup at the St. Louis Chess Club. Online, many speculated how Niemann could have cheated, with the prevailing theory that he’d used remote-controlled anal beads to direct him on the best moves.

Niemann denied the accusations and offered to “strip naked” to prove he’s not a cheat. The matter was settled privately in August after Niemann sued Carlsen, Chess.com and chess commentator Hikaru Nakamura for $100 million.

But as the scandal seemingly came to an end, those most enthralled with the scuttlebutt were left with the most probing question: Could someone actually use anal beads to cheat at chess? Two YouTubers got to the bottom.

And previously…