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Chess World Champion Magnus Carlsen has accused American grandmaster Hans Niemann of cheating.

The Norwegian took to Twitter to issue a statement on why he withdrew from his games against the American.

My statement regarding the last few weeks. pic.twitter.com/KY34DbcjLo

— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) September 26, 2022

During the third round of the game against Niemann at Sinquefield Cup, Carlsen succumbed to a shock defeat to the American.

Following that, he withdrew from the event.

"I've withdrawn from the tournament. I've always enjoyed playing in the @STLChessClub, and hope to be back in the future," he had tweeted on September 5 announcing the withdrawal.

Following that last week, he once again resigned after just one move against Niemann at Julius Baer Generation Cup. Niemann is behind Carlsen by almost 200 Elo points, a measure used to calculate the relative skill level of chess players.

Carlsen said that cheating is a big deal and poses an "existential threat" to the game.

"When Niemann was invited last minute to the 2022 Sinquefield Cup, I strongly considered withdrawing prior to the event. I ultimately chose to play."

"I believe that Niemann has cheated more - and more recently - than he has publicly admitted. His over-the-board progress has been unusual, and throughout our game, in the Sinquefield Cup I had the impression that he was not tense or even fully concentrating on the game in critical positions, while outplaying me as black in a way I think only a handful of players can do. This game contributed to changing my perspective," Carlsen alleged.

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Coming to Niemann, the 19-year-old grandmaster has admitted to cheating twice as per Chess.com, when he was 12 and 16 years of age. However, he regrets that.