Checkmate: USA vs India : Chess Gets Electric ⚡

The stage was set five boards, ten giants, one goal: which nation rules the chessboard?

Team USA: Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Levy Rozman, Tani, and Carissa.
Team India: Gukesh Dommaraju, Arjun Erigaisi, Sagar Shah, Ethan, and Divya Deshmukh.

The match kicked off full of energy. The first games had the crowd on the edge of their seats, but the middle phase dragged  most of the other games were quite boring. Only Hikaru and Fabiano’s matches really kept everyone entertained. Even then, Levy Rozman kept spirits high with his trademark sportsmanship, making the slower moments bearable.

Then came the most exciting, funny, and iconic moment:

Hikaru Vs Gukesh —> Chaos Unleashed
Gukesh, the reigning World Champion, played brilliantly at first. But in bullet time trouble, Hikaru Nakamura turned the tables and checkmated him… then grabbed Gukesh’s king and tossed it into the crowd! The audience erupted.

Irony at its finest   the person who defeated World #1 was now defeated by World #2. Epic and hilarious.

Caruana Vs Arjun —> Precision Wins

Fabiano Caruana faced Arjun in a more strategic showdown. Arjun fought bravely, but Caruana’s endgame mastery squeezed out a clean, quiet victory. No theatrics, just classical precision.

Other Highlights

Tani, Ethan, Sagar, Divya, and Carissa had some tense skirmishes, but overall these games were slow and boring compared to Hikaru and Fabiano’s battles. Levy Rozman’s sportsmanship shone, keeping morale high even when USA dominated.

Levy Vs Sagar 

Carissa Vs Divya

 Tanitoluwa Vs Ethan