Niemann challenges Arjun, Caruana for chess match with whopping offer: 'Would happily play matches against...'

American grandmaster Hans Niemann believes that the structure of professional chess must evolve and become more like the UFC or boxing. In a post on “X”, formerly Twitter, Niemann said that he had challenged other GMs like Arjun Erigaisi and Fabiano Caruana for matches and even offered $100k to the winner, but the two of them declined.

‘Chess must evolve’: Niemann

“After 3 matches in the Hans Niemann against the World Series I have tried to arrange matches with Erigaisi, Caruana, Nakamura, Carlsen, and Dubov. I offered Erigaisi and Caruana 100k to the winner (they put up no money), they have not accepted the offer yet. Chess should be like the UFC or Boxing. Pure meritocracy. I have no tournaments for the next 2 months and would happily play matches against any top player. Chess must evolve!", Niemann posted.

After 3 matches in the Hans Niemann against the World Series I have tried to arrange matches with Erigaisi, Caruana, Nakamura, Carlsen, and Dubov. I offered Erigaisi and Caruana 100k to the winner (they put up no money), they have not accepted the offer yet. Chess should be like…

— Hans Niemann (@HansMokeNiemann) January 11, 2025

Niemann has been at crossroads with both Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura since 2022. In 2022, Carlsen withdrew from the Sinquefield Cup after his loss to Niemann, with the Norwegian claiming that the American had "cheated" . In their next tournament faceoff, which was an online match, Carlsen withdrew from the match after just one move. Hikaru Nakamura too supported Carlsen.

Niemann was eventually removed from Chess.com and the International Chess Federation (FIDE) opened an investigation into the matter. Niemann then filed a lawsuit against Carlsen, Play Magnus Group (Carlsen’s company), Chess.com Chief Officer Daniel Rensh and GM Nakamura for defamation. The case was settled through an out-of-court settlement and Chess.com reinstated Niemann on their platform.

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The 21-year-old recently challenged Carlsen and Nakamura for a blitz match. “As the #1 Blitz Player on CHESSCOM. I challenge the #2 and #3 players to an OTB Blitz match to decide who the best player in the world is. I am willing to put up anywhere from 1 to 1 million USD. If they are too afraid of the challenge, I expect them to retract all false accusations and issue a formal apology,” he had written on "X" .