In response to Saint Louis Chess Club’s statement and decision to no longer invite Hans Niemann to the Club’s tournaments, Niemann immediately wrote his thoughts on the case.
“I’d just like to immediately clarify how completely inaccurate this is“, starts Niemann his X post, announcing a detailed video explanation on the happenings. “In all of 2023, I received 0 invitations to tournaments and could not even get a response to an email or call for months on end. I was assured shortly before the Us Championships that I was not “blacklisted” by the club and would receive invitations in 2024. I was assured that my relationship with the club was fine“, continues Hans Niemann, adding that Saint Louis Chess Club’s claims that he didn’t fulfill contractual obligations are ridiculous:
“Their claims about not fulfilling contractual obligations are ridiculous as well. During the US Championships, after a disappointing draw, I politely declined to do an interview. I agreed to all other interviews and as you can see on their website, my interviews brought a lot of attention to the tournament. At the closing ceremony, I apologized to Joy Bray and she said that it was okay and she appreciated my apology“. He concludes that the club just found an excuse to “blacklist one of America’s brightest talents”: “This is only an excuse that they have now conjured up their decision to blacklist one of America’s brightest talents”.
Read the complete statement by Hans Niemann below. Reactions to Saint Louis Chess Club’s ban on Hans Niemann can be found here.
