A Russian chess player overslept and missed his match at the World Blitz Championship.

In an interview with journalists, Dubov stated that he went to his room to prepare but accidentally fell asleep. "When I woke up, it was already too late. I was unlucky," commented the Russian chess player on his technical defeat.

Niemann hinted on social media about Dubov's cowardice. He stated that he is ready to play an unfinished blitz match against the Russian under any conditions and is willing to cover his travel and accommodation expenses if necessary. In case of Dubov's victory, the American promised to donate a reward of $10,000 to any charity chosen by the Russian chess player.

Hans Niemann himself, as noted by "Meduza", is known due to a cheating scandal. In September 2022, Niemann defeated Magnus Carlsen in the Grand Chess Tour tournament in St. Louis, after which the Norwegian accused him of cheating and withdrew from the tournament. Niemann's involvement in cheating was not proven, but he was temporarily banned from playing on the largest chess platform, Chess.com.

Blitz is a variant of chess where players are given three minutes for the game. Opponents have several seconds for each move.

Previously, former world chess champion Magnus Carlsen was one minute late for his game against German player Michael Bezold at the World Blitz Championship, yet he still won. Before that, he refused to participate in the tournament due to the athlete's failure to comply with the event's dress code. Carlsen arrived for the game in jeans, which are prohibited by the rules. The chief referee demanded that the chess player change his clothes by the 9th round, but he declined to do so.

Later, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) announced a relaxation of the dress code requirements for players. This was reported by FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich. He emphasized that chess players are still required to adhere to the approved dress code, but now small "elegant deviations" are allowed, such as jeans that match a blazer.