Nakamura’s Gesture Sparks Controversy After Exhibition Victory

ARLINGTON: Following his triumph at the ‘Checkmate’ USA vs India exhibition match in Arlington, Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura has drawn substantial criticism for throwing Gukesh Dommaraju’s king into the crowd.

The action, widely considered disrespectful and gratuitous, overshadowed the USA’s decisive 5-0 victory in post-match discussions.

The Americans dominated the competition, but Nakamura’s over-the-top celebration, which involved grabbing Gukesh’s king and tossing it to the spectators, became the focal point globally. This occurrence rapidly spread online, igniting debate among followers and chess lovers alike.

“I was winning, the crowd knew I was winning, so I was really happy to hear all the noise,” Nakamura stated.

While some viewers found the display entertaining, others denounced it as inappropriate.

However, a senior FIDE official, Emil Sutovsky, voiced his disapproval on social media.

“The event was a show. Fans were ecstatic. Players were encouraged to behave accordingly. All true. Now, for better or worse, name me one top player who would do what Hikaru did,” Sutovsky posted.

Checkmate organizers sarcastically responded with the statement: “On behalf of the organisers, we admit having forced the players to have fun, to please the crowd, and to forego the FIDE Etiquette. We sincerely apologize if the players, the live audience, and the vast majority of online viewers had a good time.”

Former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik also criticized the act, describing it as ‘tasteless’ and ‘vulgar’.

“I don’t know who came up with this childish, tasteless act. Likely this ‘thinker’ had no specific intention to humiliate Gukesh, but could have realised that this public gesture using the opponent’s KING looks offensive and provocative, especially against the World Champion,” Kramnik shared online.

Conversely, individuals linked to the event have implied that the act had been planned beforehand.

Chess YouTuber Levy Rozman clarified that competitors were encouraged to ‘break the king’ as part of the show’s entertainment, rather than to insult Gukesh personally.