Did Carlsen ever present any ideas as to how Niemann could have cheated at the tournament in question? Were these just baseless accusations? Seems like very bad form for Magnus. I realize being a prodigy and a champion in a field this competitive can go to your head, but damn.

Well, Niemann has a history of cheating in online games (some with prizes). He admitted to some (and according to statistics cheated in some additional ones).

It’s possible that Carlsen had this in the head when playing and that, in conjunction with a “ridiculous miracle” caused his reaction:

The report mentioned as peculiar but drew no conclusions from the statement made by Niemann in his post-game interview that it was inexplicable and a “ridiculous miracle” that he had the very day of the game, before the game, used a computer engine to analyze an unusual position that arose in his game against Carlsen.

I realize being a prodigy and a champion in a field this competitive can go to your head, but damn.

I think it would be fair to mention that Carlsen has never done anything like this before in his already long career.

I understand all that. What I meant was that I think it’s bad form to accuse an opponent who beat you of cheating without evidence, and I would think that if you’re at the top of your game, it looks even worse, and thus Carlsen would have even more incentive to mind the optics of it. This is the first I’ve ever heard of him behaving like this as well, but it looks bad nonetheless. I would think a better way to have gone about it would be to investigate my suspicions outside of the public eye first and only go public if I came up with evidence to support the claim. Being wrong about an accusation of cheating almost looks worse than actually cheating. I’d want to avoid that at all costs, if I were him.