4/19/2024 – Round 12 of the Candidates Tournament saw three players scoring full points to greatly increase their chances of achieving overall victory. Hikaru Nakamura and Gukesh D defeated Alireza Firouzja and Nijat Abasov respectively to join Ian Nepomniachtchi in the lead, while Fabiano Caruana got the better of Vidit Gujrathi to go into the final two rounds at a half-point distance from the co-leaders. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

4/18/2024 – An exciting round of chess saw Ian Nepomniachtchi winning a rollercoaster game against Vidit Gujrathi to regain the sole lead at the Candidates Tournament in Toronto. Nepo stands a half point ahead of Gukesh D, the former co-leader, and Hikaru Nakamura, who obtained a remarkable victory over direct contender Praggnanandhaa R. With three rounds to go, we can expect more thrilling games in the fierce fight to become the challenger in the next match for the World Championship. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

4/14/2024 – Two decisive games in Saturday’s eighth round had a big impact on the standings of the Candidates Tournament. Gukesh D beat Vidit Gujrathi to retake the shared lead (with Ian Nepomniachtchi), while Hikaru Nakamura defeated Fabiano Caruana to climb to shared third place, a half point behind the co-leaders. This was Nakamura’s fourth consecutive classical win with the white pieces over Caruana. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

4/10/2024 – Two games ended decisively in round 5 of the Candidates Tournament, though all four could have easily finished with decisive results. Praggnanandhaa R and Vidit Gujrathi got superior positions but failed to make the most of their advantages against Ian Nepomniachtchi and Fabiano Caruana respectively, while Hikaru Nakamura and Gukesh D obtained full points after their opponents faltered in technical endgames. Nepomniachtchi and Gukesh are now sharing the lead with 3½ points each. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

11/6/2023 – A clutch win — his seventh in ten games — gave Vidit Gujrathi tournament victory in the open section of the FIDE Grand Swiss. The Indian grandmaster thus qualified to the 2024 Candidates Tournament. Joining him in Toronto will be Hikaru Nakamura, who finished in clear second place a half point behind. Meanwhile, another Indian player prevailed in the women’s section, as Vaishali Rameshbabu grabbed clear first place after drawing Batkhuyag Munguntuul on Sunday. Anna Muzychuk, who was already qualified to the Candidates, got second place, allowing third-placed Tan Zhongyi to secure the second Candidates’ spot. | Photo: Anna Shtourman

11/5/2023 – Round 10 of the FIDE Grand Swiss saw decisive games on the seven top boards, with Hikaru Nakamura, Andrey Esipenko and Vidit Gujrathi scoring full points to go into the final round in shared first place. Nakamura got the better of Fabiano Caruana in the duel of top seeds, Vidit defeated Bogdan-Daniel Deac with the black pieces, while Esipenko beat Parham Maghsoodloo on board 3. In the women’s tournament, Vaishali Rameshbabu climbed to the sole lead by beating Tan Zhongyi with the white pieces. | Photo: chess.com / Maria Emelianova

10/30/2023 – Round 5 of the FIDE Grand Swiss saw Hikaru Nakamura and Arjun Erigaisi grabbing wins to join Andrey Esipenko in the lead of the open section. Nakamura obtained his third consecutive win after starting the event with two draws. The large chasing pack, now consisting of 16 players, now includes round-5 winners Sam Shankland, Nodirbek Yakubboev and Radoslaw Wojtaszek. Meanwhile, in the women’s tournament, Bibisara Assaubayeva beat Tan Zhongyi to become the first sole leader of the event. | Photo: Anna Shtourman

10/29/2023 – A sole leader emerged for the first time in the open section of the Grand Swiss, as Andrey Esipenko beat Marc’Andria Maurizzi to become the only player to reach a 3½/4 score. A 17-player chasing pack stands a half point behind, with Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja and Hans Niemann among those who joined this group by winning on Saturday. In the women’s section, Anna Muzychuk could not convert her advantage in the co-leaders’ clash with Tan Zhongyi. | Photo: Anna Shtourman

8/31/2023 – World-class chess explained in video: Dorian Rogozenco shows two wins of Hikaru Nakamura from Norway Chess 2023, including the decisive last-round game against Fabiano Caruana – Sharjah Masters 2023: Analyses by tournament winner Arjun Erigaisi as well as Ivan Cheparinov, Grigoriy Oparin, Thai Dai Van Ngyuen and Samvel Ter-Sahakyan – “Special” on Hikaru Nakamura: exclusive collection of 19 encounters with detailed commentary from 2007 to 2023 – Action in the centre: Christian Braun's Anti-Sicilian recipe 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5!? - "Nakamura's strategy in practice": Mihail Marin sheds light on the US American's skills, incl. two interactive videos and a large collection of exercises – Rossolimo á la Carlsen: Daniel King recommends the cutting-edge 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e5!? for Black. - "Basic Knowledge" Part #5: Karsten Mueller reveals tips and tricks in the endgame with two pawns against one. incl. two interactive training videos and much more!

8/5/2023 – Top grandmasters continue to be left out of contention at the FIDE World Cup in Baku. In the open, Alexander Grischuk and David Anton were knocked out by Bardiya Daneshvar and Abdulla Gadimbayli in Friday’s tiebreaks. Among the women, Mary Ann Gomes defeated Kateryna Lagno, while Klaudia Kulon got the better of Nana Dzagnidze. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

6/10/2023 – A final-round win over long-time leader Fabiano Caruana gave Hikaru Nakamura outright victory at the 11th edition of the Norway Chess super-tournament. Nakamura scored three wins and no losses in his nine classical games, which allowed him to climb to the second spot in the live ratings list. Caruana finished second, while 17-year-old Dommaraju Gukesh impressed by grabbing third place. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Norway Chess

6/2/2023 – Fabiano Caruana and Alireza Firouzja (photo) won straight games against Aryan Tari and Nodirbek Abdusattorov in round 3 of the Norway Chess Tournament. Magnus Carlsen, D. Gukesh and Anish Giri picked up an extra half point in Armageddon after their draws. Caruana leads the field. | Photo: Norway Chess/ Lennart Ootes

4/8/2023 – An exciting pair of matches, featuring seven decisive games, saw Hikaru Nakamura beating Fabiano Caruana twice to win the Chessable Masters. Nakamura played the Smith-Morra Gambit twice with white, including a game in which he only needed a draw. In Division II, Nodirbek Abdusattorov got the better of Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to secure a spot in Division I of the next Champions Chess Tour event.

4/7/2023 – Division I of the Chessable Masters saw the losers’ bracket semifinal taking place on Thursday, a match that Magnus Carlsen won by a 2-0 score against Levon Aronian. So Carlsen moved on to the losers’ final, where Hikaru Nakamura, who had lost the winners’ bracket final to Fabiano Caruana, was already waiting for him. Carlsen and Nakamura drew twice before Carlsen lost the final Armageddon game — following an unfortunate mouse-slip. In the Grand Final, Nakamura will once again face Caruana.

4/5/2023 – Day 2 of the Chessable Masters saw Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana advancing to the winners’ bracket final in Division I, thanks to victories over Wesley So and Vladislav Artemiev, respectively. In the losers’ bracket, Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian scored wins to remain in contention for first place. In Division II, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Vladimir Kramnik are set to face each other in the next phase.

3/27/2023 – Hikaru Nakamura pulled through to become the 2023 American Cup Champion after defeating Wesley So 2½-1½ in a difficult final Elimination Match. The finale started out with three solid draws, but finished abruptly in the fourth game after a blunder by So got his queen trapped inside Nakamura’s territory. | Photo: Saint Louis Chess Club / Lennart Ootes

3/23/2023 – Hikaru Nakamura and Irina Krush emerged victorious in the champions’ brackets of the open and women’s sections of the American Cup. Both multiple US champions won their matches in tiebreaks. Nakamura got the better of Wesley So by a 4-2 score, while Krush defeated Alice Lee more quickly, by a 3-1 score. In the elimination brackets, Levon Aronian and Nazi Paikidze remain in contention in each of the two sections. | Photo: Saint Louis Chess Club / Lennart Ootes

3/21/2023 – Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So advanced to the final match of the champions bracket in the open section of the American Cup after beating Leinier Dominguez and Fabiano Caruana respectively. Among the women, Irina Krush and Alice Lee scored 1½-½ wins to set up a rematch from last year’s edition in the final. The losers of the day still have chances to win both events, via the elimination brackets. | Photo: Saint Louis Chess Club / Lennart Ootes

3/18/2023 – The 2023 American Cup kicked off with several decisive games on the first day of action, with Nakamura, Krush, Lee, & Tokhirjonova all taking a one-point lead in their initial matches. Their opponents (Sevian, Abrahamyan, Pourkashiyan, and Nemcova) will now have to win tomorrow’s game in order to force their match into a playoff. | Photo: Saint Louis Chess Club / Lennart Ootes

3/9/2023 – Chess was among the topics discussed at the 17th edition of the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, which took place on March 3-4 at the Hynes Convention Centre in Boston. The panel brought together some of the biggest names in the game, including Danny Rensch, Jennifer Shahade, Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, and Daryl Morey.

2/9/2023 – Hikaru Nakamura will face Magnus Carlsen in the Airthings Masters’ Grand Final on Friday. The famed streamer drew Wesley So with black in Armageddon to win the losers’ bracket and set up a rematch against the world champion. So had gained the right to face Nakamura by scoring a 1½-½ victory over Arjun Erigaisi in the semifinal of the lower bracket.

2/8/2023 – The two strongest and most consistent online-chess players in the world reached the final (in the winners’ bracket) of the Airthings Masters. Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura both drew their rapid encounters against Arjun Erigaisi and Wesley So, respectively, and went on to draw with black in Armageddon deciders to set up a much-anticipated showdown. Meanwhile, Alexey Sarana and Dommaraju Gukesh remain in contention in the losers’ bracket.

12/15/2022 – In the first semi-final of the Speedchess Championship on chess.com, defending champion and blitz specialist Hikaru Nakamura will meet the young Indian grandmaster Nihal Sarin, who is also considered to be a blitz chess specialist. The eagerly awaited match starts today, 15.12., at 15.00. The winner of this encounter will meet Magnus Carlsen or Maxime Vachier-Lagrave who will play the second semi-final tomorrow, 16.12.. Watch Nakamuara vs Sarin live with commentary. | Graphics: chess.com

11/21/2022 – The Global Chess Championship saw some scintillating action by the top players which led to some equally exciting endgames. The players showed their standard by tendering attractive traps and avoiding them and resident expert Karsten Mueller has the story.