It must be noted that Niemann had also qualified to play at the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, but had pulled out at the last minute for “personal reasons”, forcing the organisers to name Nodirbek Abdusattorov as a last-minute replacement.

After a long period of silence, Niemann had tried to explain his no-show with a long post on his X handle: “I withdrew from the tournament strictly for personal reasons that I prefer not to disclose publicly right now. What’s been particularly disappointing is witnessing how quickly some people jumped on this moment to perpetuate three years of baseless accusations against me. I genuinely wonder when they’ll finally accept reality.”

The American GM added: “I didn’t immediately issue a public statement because, frankly, I was deeply frustrated by the organizers’ and TV2’s absurd speculation suggesting my decision was linked to what they dramatically called ‘new, advanced anti-cheating measures.’ The article falsely claimed that the last message I received referenced ‘enhanced measures’. To be absolutely clear—this is completely false. Unsurprisingly, the usual suspects within the chess mafia eagerly amplified this ridiculous narrative. At the time, I believed publicly responding would only legitimize accusations that have no basis in reality.”

The comment about “years of baseless accusations” is a reference to the infamous cheating scandal in 2022 when Carlsen had withdrawn from the Sinquefield Cup after losing a game to Niemann. This had led to allegations of cheating and a $100 million lawsuit from the American. No implicating evidence was ever found to suggest that Niemann had cheated and the duo had come to a settlement. Now, next month, the Niemann vs Carlsen battle will be the highlight of the Las Vegas leg.

The Las Vegas leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour will also be the first time that fans are allowed to watch the event live. Games will be hosted in Wynn’s 50,000-square-foot Lafite Ballroom.