Nepo Responds to Niemann
By Cameron W. · Sun, 06 Sep 2026
<p>Ian Nepomniachtchi has responded to Hans Niemann's call for FIDE to punish players over public insinuations, telling the Times of India that Niemann "can't stop playing the victim card" and comparing his public persona to Conor McGregor's.</p>
Ian Nepomniachtchi has responded to Hans Niemann's call for FIDE to punish players over public insinuations, telling the Times of India that Niemann "can't stop playing the victim card" and comparing his public persona to Conor McGregor's.
The exchange traces back to September 1, when 14-year-old Canadian IM Aaron Mendes beat Nepomniachtchi in round 10 of that week's Titled Tuesday. Mendes ignored a hanging bishop late in the game to play en passant instead, a moment Nepomniachtchi flagged live on stream as leaving "a bad taste," saying he would have had zero suspicions about the game if not for that single move.
Niemann responded the next day, arguing that FIDE needed to set a precedent against this kind of public insinuation, particularly when directed at a minor. He pointed to a past instance of Nepomniachtchi making similar comments about young Argentine prodigy Faustino Oro, and drew a comparison to the NBA fining players for criticizing referees, calling the chess equivalent "far more extreme." Any accusation, Niemann said, belonged in front of FIDE's ethics commission rather than aired publicly.
Nepomniachtchi used his Times of India interview to push back directly on Niemann rather than revisit the Mendes comments themselves. He said he respects Niemann's chess, calling him "a very good and formidable player" with real strength in certain openings, but was blunt about his opinion of Niemann off the board. He accused Niemann of seeking reactions whenever the opportunity arises and suggested the American cultivates a deliberately provocative image, likening him to McGregor's "The Notorious" persona in mixed martial arts.
Mendes, for his part, remains one of the fastest-rising prodigies in the game. He became the youngest IM in Canadian history at age 12 and currently sits at a classical rating of 2340, ranked 27th in the country.
Neither Niemann nor Nepomniachtchi has commented further since the Times of India interview was published.
