Hikaru Nakamura Stars In TV Series Billions
GM Hikaru Nakamura made a cameo appearance in the TV show Billions. The American grandmaster appeared in the second episode of season five, aired on Sunday on the premium television network Showtime.
Billions is an award-winning and critically acclaimed American television drama series that first aired on Showtime in January 2016. It tells the story of hedge fund manager Bobby Axelrod (played by Damian Lewis) as he accumulates wealth and power in the world of high finance while being chased by U.S. attorney Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti).
The fifth season premiered last week and on Sunday, May 10, the second episode of the season was aired. It included a cameo appearance by Nakamura playing himself.
Nakamura is seen for about a minute giving the simul. In one scene, he delivers a pretty checkmate on one of the boards. The simul is part of a fundraiser taking place during the episode.
The board position seems to be this one before the start of the combination, which is a mate in four. Can you find it?
The episode is called "The Chris Rock Test" and was written by Adam R. Perlman and directed by Lee Tamahori. It was the 50th episode of the show. It's a fitting show to appear in, as Nakamura has a keen interest in the world of finance.
Nakamura was a participant in the FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup, which finished on May 10 with a victory for China. The American grandmaster is a very active streamer; you can watch him regularly on his Twitch channel.
My first cameo in a television show!! #Billions https://t.co/qAzz2szZFY
— Hikaru Nakamura (@GMHikaru) May 11, 2020
For tonight‘s episode of #Billions I learned to become a Chessmaster. Like every great method actor I also *unlearned* it. It was the responsible thing to do. (An honor to meet chess champion Hikaru Nakamura. ♟) pic.twitter.com/FwidLfv7Kl
— Mike Birbiglia (@birbigs) May 11, 2020
View this post on InstagramJust a random pic with the super talented @asiakatedillon on the set of #billions !!
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