New Delhi: The chess community was abuzz following a controversial moment at Checkmate: USA vs India, where American GM Hikaru Nakamura defeated world champion Gukesh Dommaraju as Team USA secured a 5-0 victory over Team India. Celebrating his win, Nakamura grabbed Gukesh’s king and tossed it into a cheering crowd, an act that immediately drew mixed reactions online.
The video of Nakamura’s celebration quickly went viral, with many questioning the decorum of the gesture. FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky weighed in on X, noting, “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.”
In response, the event organisers issued a cheeky, sarcastic statement, writing, “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.”
The match itself began with a solid draw in which a bishop endgame unfolded. In the subsequent five-minute game, Nakamura opened with the unusual move 1.b4, initially gaining queenside space but later being outplayed by Gukesh, who held a winning position for much of the game. The tension peaked in severe time trouble for both players, with Gukesh ultimately missing a mate-in-one opportunity that could have extended the game into a bullet finish. Team USA clinched the match 5-0, after which Nakamura repeated the now-infamous gesture of tossing Gukesh’s king into the crowd.
The incident drew sharp criticism from former world champion Vladimir Kramnik, who called the act “childish and tasteless.” He remarked on X, “I don’t know who came up with this act. Likely this ‘thinker’ had no specific intention to humiliate Gukesh, but he should have realized that using the opponent’s KING publicly looks offensive and provocative, especially against the World Champion.”
The event, meant as a showcase of high-level chess with a fan-friendly atmosphere, has sparked a debate on the balance between entertainment and sportsmanship at top-level competitions.
