Why Magnus Carlsen resigned after first move against Hans Niemann - Explained

The reigning World Chess champion, Magnus Carlsen, on Monday, resigned after just one move in his match against the American GM Hans Niemann at the ongoing Julius Bear Generation Cup.

The 31-year-old, playing with black pieces, moved his knight to the F6 square for his first move before resigning the online game. But, why did Magnus Carlsen do so?

Why did Magnus Carlsen resign against Hans Niemann after one move?

Well, the story dates back to early September 2022. Carlsen and Niemann were then pitted against each other at the Sinquefield Cup - an over the board tournament.

Niemann defeated Carlsen with the black pieces in their encounter. This was Magnus Carlsen's first loss with the white pieces in a classical game since 2018 and his first-ever loss against a player rated below 2700 since 2016.

In the aftermath of the loss, Carlsen withdrew from the tournament without any explanation and posted a Jose Mourhino gif reading, "I prefer not to speak, if I speak I am in trouble."

Rumours soon started floating around on how Magnus Carlsen believes Hans Niemann cheated in the game. It was further fueled by GM and streamer Hikaru Nakamura. Soon evidences, surfaced how Niemann was previously banned by online platform chess.com for using engine.

While Niemann has since then appeared in various interviews defending himself, Magnus has remained silent on the issue.

The Julius Bear Generational Cup was the first meeting between Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann since then. It was expected to be an exciting contest with all that had transpired, but the World Champion decided to cut it short by resigning after playing just one move.

While Magnus Carlsen is yet to clarify why he resigned after a single move, the chess world is once again caught in the cheating saga.