The Carlsen-Nakamura rivalry is a chess rivalry that exists between grandmasters Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura. Considered to be one of the best in the sport,^[1] it features two of the most recognizable faces in modern chess.

Carlsen is the highest rated chess player in history and a 5 time world champion, while Nakamura is currently ranked 3rd in the world (as of September 2023) and the reigning Fischer Random World Champion. The two have dominated quick chess, with Carlsen being a 4 time World Rapid Chess Champion and a 6 time World Blitz Chess Champion, while Nakamura has been ranked number 1 or near number 1 in both blitz and Rapid since FIDE started publishing the lists, and having won the Chess.com Speed Chess Championships from 2018 to 2022, losing to Carlsen in the 2023 Championship.^[2][3] The two regularly meet in Chess.com Titled Tuesday tournaments, are regularly rated over 3200 in blitz on chess.com and even exhibition games between the two are highly anticipated. However, Nakamura is more prevalent in online chess (such as that on Chess.com), while Carlsen is considered the more complete player (especially in classical) and is widely acclaimed as the greatest active player and arguably the greatest player of all time; Hikaru has stated that in his view, Carlsen is the greatest player of all time, and unquestionably so if he retains his number 1 ranking for a few years longer.(Wikipedia)