I Drew With Hikaru Nakamura! My Games Against Chess Streamers - Part 2 - Hikaru Nakamura
Today I am excited to share the next part of my series where I highlight my key encounters with a player I have encountered many times over the last 10 years... Hikaru Nakamura. This blog will include a draw from yesterday, live on Hikaru's stream! But first, a short word about our subject...
Hikaru Nakamura is a super Grandmaster from the USA who currently reigns as the #1 blitz player in the world on FIDE ratings, ahead of Magnus Carlsen. Formerly a world #2 in classical with a rating high of over 2800, Nakamura is considered by many as quite possibly the best blitz/bullet chess player of all time.
These days, Nakamura is perhaps better known as a Twitch streamer and Youtube content creator, boasting over 1.2 million subscribers on the platform.
The score
Over the last 10 years, I have had the opportunity to play Nakamura on various occasions, most notably in streamer tournaments such as Arena Kings. Although I have had some close encounters, the first result I ever scored against Naka was only 12 hours ago! The score currently stands at 17.5-0.5 Naka's way. Somehow I feel proud of this result.
Drawing With Hikaru
Undoubtedly one of the most difficult things to do in chess is to draw or win against Hikaru Nakamura in a fast time control so I'm happy to say I've ticked that off the bucket list. I will return to try for victory at some point but it seems I need to shake my nerves first.
My Numerous Losses
The following games will be all be annotated as there are a lot, however I think if anything, these games highlight how super GM's are able to take down players, who are playing at their absolute best (sometimes above 95% accuracy) on a consistent basis.
Despite coaching and playing for a living and teaching students to play more like such super GM's, I still find it unfathomable to be able to consistently reach the level Hikaru can in a blitz chess game. Enjoy the series below...
Where To Find Hikaru?
My favorite spot to watch Hikaru is over on his Twitch channel here. Keep in mind this is the first age in history where we've been lucky enough to be able to watch Super Grandmasters commentate their thought processes live. Well worth checking out.
Who's Next?
I have had a lot of requests to cover my games with Levy Rozman (GothamChess) so by popular demand, this will be up next! Let me know in the comments which other content creators you'd like me to cover in the near future.
