At stake: how Dubov forced Niemann to take a polygraph test

American grandmaster Hans Niemann will have to take a lie detector test and answer a question about unfair play. This is the condition he agreed to in the event of a loss in a blitz match with Russian Daniil Dubov. The series consisted of 18 games with short control (3 minutes + 2 seconds per turn) and turned out to be persistent. After the first day, Dubov led 5.5:3.5, on the second day Niemann managed to even the score. However, the decisive game remained with the Russian, as well as the whole match (9.5:8.5).

An argument about honesty

Immediately after the success in the 18th game, Daniil Dubov immediately left the game room. Hans Niemann also did not comment on the outcome of the meeting. The chess world is now waiting to see if the agreements announced on the eve of the match will be fulfilled: in case of a loss, the American chess player promised to undergo a polygraph test.

"The test should contain only questions about cheating, and the results will be shared with the community as a whole. If the test turns out to be clean, I admit that my decision was rash, and I am ready to play a blitz match against you," Dubov wrote on his social media back in January.

By a possibly "reckless" decision, he was referring to the case at the 2024 World Cup in New York in December, when Dubov did not attend the match with Niemann, citing that he overslept. Although most chess players perceived this as an unspoken protest, as the Russian had previously expressed complaints against Niemann, suspecting him of unfair play. By the way, he is not the only one who thinks so, but, for example, a number of other elite grandmasters, including Magnus Carlsen.

— Daniel and Hans have a history of relationship that began earlier than last December in New York. And at the 2024 World Cup, she only got publicity," said Russian grandmaster Yan Nepomnyashchy.

Niemann has recently called out anyone who doubts his honesty to matches, and speaking of Dubov, he was not shy in his expressions. Daniel insisted that the American take a polygraph test. Niemann initially refused to take a lie detector test, citing the "corruption of the chess mafia." But everything was changed by Hans's arrival at the Aeroflot Open – 2025 chess tournament, which took place in late February and early March. The American decided to stay in Moscow and accept Daniel's conditions on the polygraph, but only in case of his defeat.

"The very idea of accepting a lie detector is contrary to my principles, but I really wanted to play this match," Hans Niemann confessed to Sport Express this week. — I have nothing to hide, and I know that I will win. So that's the main reason why I decided to play a mini-match. I think many of my critics are chess players, and they are hiding. Therefore, I believe that everything should be decided on the chessboard. After all, even the bickering of boxers before fights ends in a fight.

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When asked what this match would show and what his goal was, Dubov replied:

— I'm interested in him passing the detector test and answering the question. Everyone knows which one. We said that if I win, then so be it. If not, then no. So the meaning of the match depends on its outcome. Where will he get this check? This is still classified information.

The Knight's Endgame

The match was refereed by international referee Boris Postovsky, a former coach of the Russian national team, under whom the team won the World Chess Olympiad four times in a row. In 1998, he served the blitz match of Garry Kasparov (listed by Rosfinmonitoring as a terrorist and extremist) and Vladimir Kramnik at the Kosmos Hotel.

Then the match lasted two days — 12 games each evening. A few games before the end of the match, Kramnik was two points ahead of his opponent, but at the finish Kasparov won twice and equalized the score: the meeting between the current and future world champion ended in a draw — 12:12.

This time, the mini-match could also end in a draw. Before the final game, the score was equal — 8.5:8.5. Daniil played white and managed to create serious problems for his opponent. When it already seemed that Hans was escaping, the Russian managed to win in the knight's endgame.

— Is it possible to compare this confrontation with the 1998 match? No, this is still a more local event," Ilya Levitov, the match organizer and former head of the Russian Chess Federation, said in an interview with Izvestia. — Then the reigning world champion and one of the contenders for the crown were playing. At that moment, Vladimir Kramnik was already the second or third chess player in the world, along with Vichy Anand. Plus back then, blitz wasn't played at all at a serious level. And here is a match between two great chess players in an online format. The idea itself, I think, was very revolutionary. And now it has become the norm. But overall, I really liked everything. It seems that we underestimate this format. There were practically no pauses or downtime. This is how the spectacle acquires drama. There is a beginning, a development, a climax and a finale. The whole match lasted three hours, and sometimes we see four moves in three hours.

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Niemann must now take a lie detector test. However, it is not yet known where he will do this. Ilya Levitov said that this "no longer concerns him as the organizer of the match."

— I was asked to organize a match, and that's it. Now, as a fan, I will wait for this polygraph question. I don't know if I'll wait," Levitov said.

He also noted that he personally got to know Niemann during these days. The chess player impressed him as an "active, energetic, cheerful, lively" person who "normally makes contact."

Niemann ranks 21st in the rating of the International Chess Federation, Dubov - 31st.