The anal beads chess scandal inspired an episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 16.
The controversy has returned to the headlines after grandmaster Hans Niemann, who was accused of cheating, denied the accusations once again in an interview with Piers Morgan earlier this week.
For the uninitiated, last year the American wunderkind was accused of employing anal beads to beat Magnus Carlsen, who is considered among the greatest players of modern times.
After Carlsen released a statement accusing Niemann of cheating, speculation mounted he had used the vibrating sex toy, that could be wirelessly controlled by more experienced players to advise on moves, to secure his victory.
While he admitted cheating in online games when he was a teenager, the 20-year-old was cleared of the allegations in August after resolving a legal dispute with Carlsen and another highly-ranked player, Hikaru Nakamura.
But the drama has been immortalised forever in episode 4 of season 16 of It’s Always Sunny, which recently landed on Netflix in the UK.
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Directly inspired by the drama, the instalment, titled Frank vs Russia, sees Charlie (Charlie Day) sign Frank (Danny DeVito) up for a televised chess competition.
They successfully cheat their way to the top, by equipping Frank with camera glasses and a buzzer, advising moves from an ice cream van, before their plans come under threat by increased security measures for the finals.
To evade detection, Frank instead inserts anal beads which are controlled via an app, and, although they cause him severe pain, he is eventually crowned winner of the competition.
After Piers, 58, brought up the chess scandal on TalkTV on Monday, Niemann replied: ‘Obviously it was very disheartening to be accused of cheating after that victory, but it happened and I learned a lot from that time.
‘It really has taught me a lot of very, very important lessons about life and chess, and I think it’s only strengthened my resolve.’
Asked specifically whether he had cheated, Niemann responded: ‘Of course not.’
Niemann had sought $100 million (£82m) in his lawsuit against Carlsen, Nakamura and the website Chess.com, which published a 72-page report in October last year accusing him of cheating more than 100 times.
The case was dismissed by a federal judge on June 27, and the agreement was announced two months later.
It meant Niemann would be allowed to take part in Chess.com tournaments again, and Carlsen would play him when they were drawn together.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is available to stream on Netflix in the UK and on Hulu in the US.
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