Hans Neimann, a young player rocketing up the ratings, recently handed chess champion Magnus Carlsen a surprise defeat. Carlsen quit the tournament, posting a video of soccer manager José Mourinho saying that if he spoke, he would be in trouble. In context, this was interpreted as a suggestion that Neimann had cheated his way to victory— a claim soon repeated and made more explicitly by other elite players. A week into the imbroglio, Neimann is now denying using a digital sex toy connected to a chess computer to win after that nasty speculation caught the eye, and the retweet button, of billionaire troll Elon Musk.

Hans Niemann, 19, an up and-coming star in the game, was sensationally accused online of using anal beads connected to a computer programme that would vibrate and give him the perfect AI moves to defeat world No. 1 grandmaster Magnus Carlsen.

Hitting back at internet rumours accusing him of using anal beads to cheat, Niemann said: "If they want me to strip fully naked, I will do it.

There's a fascinating dynamic here. On one hand, it's a bit shocking that these players would so openly accuse another of cheating on such circumstantial and statistically dubious grounds. At first they were cagey about it, but it soon got explicit and at this point registers to outsiders as plainly libelous. But on the other hand, the whole situation makes the highest echelons of chess look, well, like a gossipy club of nerds. The whole point is being there, not wrecking it. Neimann seems to have plenty of supporters who think he's innocent, after all.

But what's happening now is wilder still: Neimann (intentionally or otherwise) began collapsing the context of this elite society by talking up its catty politics and insinuations for the broader audience turning up to see what the fuss was about. And then Musk blew it up entirely. As a result, the professional game of chess now looks like pro wresting, where everyone is a raging narcissist and everything is governed by kayfabe, replete with headlines about sex toys and naked tournaments and that other grandmaster who never shuts the fuck up. All we need now is Raul Capablanca to rise from the dead and flounce in like Vince McMahon to claim his rightful title.

[NSFW] The Spice Channel was a softcore pornography cable TV offering in the 1990s. If you didn't pay for a subscription, you could still see scrambled video, which elevated the original video into psychedelic deep dream abstract art experiments. Here are a few clips. From the YouTube description: Signal bleed, or scrambling was a filter… READ THE REST

“The Gathering of the Juggalos is heaven for a photographer.” —Nate Igor Smith on finding freedom among killer clowns. READ THE REST

Most people today love efficiency, and we appreciate it any way we can get it. And when it directly makes our lives better? Sign us up.  If you are someone who enjoys efficiency and multitasking, then you are in luck. Right now you can enjoy the convenience of a wireless phone charger with the added benefit of an… READ THE REST

We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. Some people do it professionally, and some people do it recreationally, but thanks to smartphones, almost everybody can take a shot at being a photographer these days. Gone are the days of needing… READ THE REST

We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. More people are working from laptops than ever these days. Whether you're self-employed, starting online education, or utilizing a work-from-home setup, you need to be able to work from anywhere. Laptops… READ THE REST

Read the rules you agree to by using this website in our Terms of Service.

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Boing Boing uses cookies and analytics trackers, and is supported by advertising, merchandise sales and affiliate links. Read about what we do with the data we gather in our Privacy Policy.

Who will be eaten first? Our forum rules are detailed in the Community Guidelines.

Boing Boing is published under a Creative Commons license except where otherwise noted.