Did a US chess champion cheat?

The chess world is no stranger to scandals. A prominent recent controversy erupted in November 2023, when Vladimir Kramnik insinuated on his chess.com blog and in a YouTube video that Hikaru Nakamura cheated – when he scored 45.5/50 in a blitz tournament. Kramnik pointed out the statistical improbability of Nakamura’s streak. But a research team, using Bayesian analysis and historical performance data, has found a 99.6% probability that Nakamura did not cheat.