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American Grandmaster Hans Niemann has taken a jibe at Magnus Carlsen ahead of the Las Vegas leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, where the duo are likely to lock horns.Niemann is one of the 16 players participating in the Las Vegas leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour. In his group, he will face Fabiano Caruana, Arjun Erigaisi, and Vidit Gujrathi.“I honestly think that more pressure is on them because they have much more to lose than me,” Niemann told ChessBase India.“For me, I’m 22 years old. I have 10 chances against them, right? If I lose to them, it’s not something to be embarrassed about, right?“They’re great players, but for them, if they lose—considering the history—it would be quite devastating, you know? So, I think they feel more pressure.“Even recently, my results against Hikaru and Magnus online have been very good.“I think against Hikaru this year, I’m 5½–1½, and all the wins I had were decisive in winning the tournament. So, I’m outperforming Hikaru. I beat Magnus and Hikaru back-to-back.
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Who do you think will face more pressure in their upcoming match: Hans Niemann or Magnus Carlsen?
“Even against Alireza, I’m 3-0 recently. So, I don’t feel the same nerves I used to feel against the top guys. I guess having opportunities to play them in online blitz helps you acclimatise to their level and to the potential stress that can arise throughout the game.“They have much more to lose. So, I would say they’re stressed (facing me). If you saw my rapid game against Hikaru—he was completely winning, but then he blundered. I’ve been tricking him a lot. So, it’s a sign of stress.”If the two do face off, it will be only the third time Carlsen and Niemann have played each other since the Norwegian accused Niemann of cheating after losing to him in a Sinquefield Cup game in 2022. That incident led to a $100 million lawsuit, which was eventually settled.
