Hikaru Nakamura
Hikaru Nakamura is an American chess grandmaster and the creator behind GMHikaru, sharing speed chess, tournament recaps and lessons with fans online.
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Latest
Hikaru’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus their backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
YouTube
YouTube
Overview
- Born
- December 9, 1987 · Hirakata, Japan
- Based in chess
- Represents the United States
- Grandmaster
- Earned the title in 2003
- Known online as
- GMHikaru
- World title
- 2022 Fischer Random World Champion
Mini bio
How it started.
Born in Japan, Hikaru moved to the United States at age two. Their official biography credits stepfather Sunil Weeramantry with coaching them as a child. Hikaru became a grandmaster in 2003 and won a first U.S. championship in 2005.
The tournament breakthrough.
Winning Tata Steel at Wijk aan Zee in 2011 put Hikaru ahead of a field that included Viswanathan Anand, Vladimir Kramnik and Magnus Carlsen. Hikaru has won five U.S. championship titles: 2005, 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2019.
A community around the board.
Hikaru’s online audience grew through the 2020 chess boom, including PogChamps coaching and game reviews. In a 2022 US Chess interview, they described how financial stability from streaming and support from fans eased the pressure of tournament results. Their channel lets viewers follow both fast online games and reflections on over-the-board competition.
Creditschronological, newest first
- 2026Rough Day in St LouisCreator and player
- 2020Hikaru checks out xQc’s progress in Pogchamps 2Creator and game analyst
Awards
Quotes
I do feel a big responsibility.Hikaru Nakamura, US Chess, June 7, 2022
Discussing the responsibility of bringing chess to viewers who might otherwise never watch the game. Source: https://new.uschess.org/news/i-do-feel-big-responsibility
Trivia
- Before speaking to chat on streams, Hikaru used to type comments during games on the Internet Chess Club.
- Hikaru calls the opening 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c5 “The Box,” after the four pawns on adjacent squares.
- Hikaru’s older brother Asuka was also a strong scholastic chess player.
Find Hikaru
Follow Hikaru for live games, recaps and time with the chess community.
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