Hikaru Nakamura has joined a chorus of top grandmasters expressing support for Magnus Carlsen after his bombshell statement that directly accused Hans Niemann of cheating.

"It's extremely clear from this letter that Magnus has something, who knows what he has, but in order for him to release it I am guessing Hans has to say 'I won't sue you' or do anything of that nature," Nakamura said on his stream.

Carlsen last night published a statement where he, for the first time, revealed his reasons for withdrawing from the Sinquefield Cup, and then his shock resignation against 19-year-old Hans Niemann.

What became clear is that he thinks the American teenager is cheating.

"I believe that Niemann has cheated more - and more recently - than he has publicly admitted," the World Champion said.

While not offering any concrete evidence, Carlsen called Niemann's rise "unusual" and said he had the impression that he "wasn't tense or even fully concentrated on the game in critical positions," during their game in St. Louis.

Carlsen ended the letter with, "I hope that the truth on this matter comes out, whatever it may be".

Nakamura has talked extensively about the cheating scandal that has shocked the chess world on his popular stream. He has previously revealed he was aware of rumours circulating around Niemann for some time.

Going through several of Niemann's games, he offered his support. He called Carlsen's statement "very, very strong".

"It feels like the ball is very clearly in Hans' court now. He has two people who are basically saying 'you gotta say stuff without legal repercussions'. It's very clear."

Nakamura refers to a part in Carlsen's statement where he says there are limits to what he can say, "without explicit permission from Niemann to speak openly".

"What will Hans do here, is the big question," he added. "If Hans is not saying anything, I think that looks very suspicious. If Hans is truly innocent in all of this, Hans should basically come out and say 'show me what you have' and that's the end of the story.

"If Hans doesn't give permission, I think it's very clear, isn't it? If Hans doesn't say something, it feels to me that he must be admitting something. It has to be the case. There is no other answer to it."

Hans Niemann is yet to respond to Magnus Carlsen's last statement | photo: Lennart Ootes, Grand Chess Tour

Nakamura isn't the only top player who has supported Carlsen's allegations. Last week Ian Nepomniachtchi spoke about having suspected Niemann of cheating due to his extraordinary rise.

Since Carlsen's statement, several other grandmasters have come out in support.

One tweet came from French Grandmaster and Managing Editor of Thinkers Publishing Romain Edouard, who lashed out at US Grandmaster Ben Finegold for calling Carlsen a "cry-baby", saying the Norwegian has done everything right so far.

Indian Grandmaster R.B. Ramesh, one of the world's leading chess coaches, published a long thread on Twitter saying he supports Carlsen's principled stand against cheating, urging chess organisers to increase security measures.

He ends with:

Fellow Indian Srinath Narayanan said he has "enormous respect for Carlsen" after the announcement, and talks about how cheating has become a serious problem in the chess world.

US Grandmaster Andrew Tang made a similar point, saying Carlsen deserves credit.

The bullet star added in a follow-up tweet:

Other grandmasters have been more critical. Maurice Ashley said "many questions are still hanging in the air", saying it was a "sad time for chess".

The popular British chess commentator Daniel King, in an "Ask Me Anything" session on chess24, was critical of Carlsen for making the accusations without providing evidence.

FIDE General Director Emil Sutovsky also pointed out that while Carlsen has received more support among grandmasters, procedures need to be followed.

Hans Niemann has yet to respond to Carlsen's statement. He has previously admitted to cheating on two occasions online, but denied having ever used assistance over-the-board.

Last Friday FIDE released a statement expressing mild criticism of the World Champion's actions, saying, "We strongly believe that there were better ways to handle this situation."

The statement, signed by FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, added that "it is [FIDE's] duty to protect the integrity of the game and its image", and suggested referring the case to FIDE's Fair Play Commission for further investigation.