E-Paper
D Gukesh's calm and composed reaction shows class, resets board after Hikaru Nakamura throws king into the crowd: Watch
D Gukesh's reaction to Hikaru Nakamura's controversial celebration stood out, and it showed class.
Despite the moment, D Gukesh was his usual calm and composed self as Hikaru Nakamura threw his king in celebration after checkmating the Indian GM. The moment has gone viral on social media since then, and it took place in an exhibition chess event, Checkmate: USA vs. India. It was a 5-0 clean sweep for the Americans, as fans also saw Fabiano Caruana easing past Arjun Erigaisi. Meanwhile, Carissa Yip sealed a straightforward win against Women's World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh.
Gukesh and Nakamura's showdown was scheduled for the fifth fixture, but it turned out to be a mere formality as it was a best-of-five finale.
Also Read: Garry Kasparov reacts to Hikaru Nakamura's controversial celebration against D Gukesh, Carlsen's coach backs American GM
Gukesh's reaction to Nakamura's controversial celebration stood out, as the Indian GM also smiled for a second. Then he also went on to reset his board, as Hikaru rallied the crowd to shout louder. Then, Arjun walked towards the reigning world champion, and patted him on the back.
Here is Gukesh's reaction:
Gukesh drew in the 10-minute and five-minute games, and then in the one-minute bullet game, calamity struck as he was checkmated on the back rank by Nakamura's queen. Nakamura also had another bishop cutting off the escape square.
It was a thrilling game. At one point, Gukesh also had a time advantage, and the evaluation bar was on his side. But Nakamura, known for being one of the best in shorter formats, used his experience to take down the Indian GM easily.
Reacting to the controversial celebration by Hikaru, Dutch GM Anish Giri wrote on X, "I am team Hikaru here. Organizers probably tried an experimental event, not pretending that this is the only way chess should be played in the future, but just to try to have some fun. Hikaru was just playing along and did something funky for the memes. Don't see the big deal."
"Do agree that obviously this is not the "future of chess". Exhibition events have always been around, and this one is just a little more extravagant", he added.
