A major controversy erupted after Hikaru Nakamura threw D Gukesh’s king into the crowd after delivering a checkmate at the exhibition event called Checkmate: USA vs India at Esports Stadium Arlington. As soon as the 37-year-old rounded up Team USA’s 5-0 victory, Nakamura went wild, tossing Gukesh’s king into the crowd and pumping his fist like there was no tomorrow. On the other hand, Gukesh sported a sheepish smile, looking at the king going towards the fans.
The tossing of the king into the crowd is an unconventional celebration when it comes to chess, and it’s no surprise that plenty have been rubbed the wrong way. The reactions are similar to Magnus Carlsen smashing his fist after losing to Gukesh at Norway Chess.
But why did Nakamura behave like that? Now, we have the answer to the burning question. According to YouTuber Levy Rozman, the idea originated from the organisers.
“Without context, it will look like an unprovoked gesture. But we were encouraged by the organisers to do that stuff. I forgot that if I won my game against ChessBase India’s Sagar Shah, or he won, we were supposed to break the king. It was for the entertainment angle,” he said on YouTube.
“The winner of Gukesh and Hikaru’s game was supposed to toss the king into the fans. I don’t know if Gukesh would have done that. Hikaru spoke to Gukesh later and explained that it was all for show and no disrespect was meant,” he added.
It must be noted that Rozman, popularly known as Gotham Chess, was a member of the USA team.
What was the event all about?
The ‘Checkmate: USA vs India’ was an exhibition event featuring five years from both India and the USA. Throughout the competition, WWE-style announcements were made for the players, further emphasising that the focus was truly on providing entertainment for the fans. Before the tournament began, even Gukesh spoke about the atmosphere, saying he hadn’t seen anything like that before.
“I don’t think I have ever played with so much audience in a stadium and such energy in the arena,” the Indian Express quoted Gukesh as saying.
On the other hand, Nakamura said that the event was one of the best experiences he had, as the huge turnout made it special.
“This was one of the best in-person experiences I have had as someone who has been playing chess for a very long time. We are so used to celebrating our victories by ourselves… chess can be such a lonely job, you don’t feel any validation for what you are doing,” said Nakamura on his YouTube channel.
