SAN FRANCISCO — Pop culture news site PopSugar this week interviewed two sexperts who weighed in on the current controversy in the world of competitive chess, over a U.S. teen prodigy rumored to have cheated using some form of anal vibrating toy.
PopSugar’s Melanie Whyte spoke with academic Tara Suwinyattichaiporn, a professor of sexual communication and relationships at California State University, Fullerton, and with Holly Richmond, a certified sex therapist and clinical board member for pleasure product company Dame.
Whyte provided background on the controversy, noting that “19-year-old Grandmaster Hans Niemann was up against the world's top chess player, Magnus Carlsen, 31, when Carlsen resigned from the prestigious Sinquefield Cup tournament after playing just one move.”
Rumors then started swirling that Carlsen believed Niemann “was relying on an accomplice to buzz vibrating anal beads to guide him into making better moves.”
Although Niemann has denied the accusation, Whyte reached out to the two sexperts to ask them if it was “even possible to use a vibrating anal sex toy for messaging purposes.”
Suwinyattichaiporn told PopSugar that while the vibrations produced by anal beads and butt plugs are typically “used to stimulate the anus for anal orgasm and prostate orgasm,” she thinks that “it's possible to use it for messaging purpose.”
Richmond explained the basics of teledildonics to Whyte, describing sex toys that “work via a Bluetooth or WiFi connection through your phone ... For partnered play, it adds a bit of novelty and even a sub/dom vibe because someone else is in control of your pleasure or you're in control of theirs. Some couples use it in public, too, so the taboo or secretive nature can feel really sexy.”
Richmond added that if a chess player could place an accomplice “within 30 feet of the player, they could ‘buzz’ him in a certain pattern to let him know which way to make his next move.”
Whyte’s piece concluded, “While we don't know what actually happened during the chess match, any opportunity to bring sex toys into the mainstream conversation is a fun excuse to play and discover.”
To read, “Orgasms Are Great, But Have You Ever Used Vibrating Anal Beads to Cheat at Chess?” visit PopSugar.
