For ages, chess was seen through either of the two lenses — an elitist activity that doesn't really deserve the tag of "sport" or a game that is for the less physically gifted and not to be given time to by those who's superior brawns led to other, more "masculine" and "cool" callings like athletics or football. However, recent events have proved many of both these parties wrong, including players of the ancient game itself, led by the sheer number of content creators taking to it.
Today, chess is seen as a refreshingly amazing exercise of the mind where some of the biggest streamers play with and against each other and sometimes, professional players. At the forefront of this movement is Hikaru Nakamura, the chess Grandmaster from The United States who has made it his mission to take the game to the masses and eradicate the old-school stereotypes attached to it that have pretty much prevented it from reaching a more global audience, as a sport and an online genre.
Who is Hikaru Nakamura?
Hikaru Nakamura, the five-time national chess champion, was the youngest-ever American prodigy at that time to earn the “Grandmaster” title aged 15. He was born in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, to an American mother, Carolyn Merrow Nakamura — a classically trained musician and former public school teacher — and a Japanese father, Shuichi Nakamura.
Raised in White Plains, New York, he began playing chess at seven and was coached by FIDE Master and chess author Sunil Weeramantry, his stepfather. The Sri Lankan began coaching the Nakamura brothers after the elder Asuka Nakamura won the National Kindergarten Championship in 1992.
Hikaru Nakamura has been part of the US team to win gold at the 2016 Chess Olympiad, while the side has also claimed two bronzes. Thanks to a peak rating of 2816, he is the tenth-highest-rated player in history and has been ranked No. 1 in both rapid and blitz chess while also consistently remaining near the peak since they were introduced in May 2014.
Hikaru Nakamura's rating and net worth
The 35-year-old was a participant in FIDE’s 2004 World Championship tournament and a candidate for the world championship in 2016 and 2022. He also won the 2022 Fischer Random World Championship and in November 2022 was the highest-rated blitz player in the world (2909 FIDE blitz rating).
He is currently ranked second in the world, only behind the indomitable Magnus Carlsen, and is one of the two Americans in the top three, the other being Fabiano Caruana. His ratings are 2787 in Classical, 2748 in Rapid, and 2874 in Blitz, apart from holding several "youngest-ever" records in US chess history.
Thanks to his various achievements and popularity on Twitch, which has seen him represent esports organizations like TSM and Misfits, Hikaru Nakamura's net worth is around $50M, making him the joint-richest chess player in the world as of 2023 alongside Magnus Carlsen.
Hikaru Nakamura, Twitch, and a love affair that continues to blossom
It was in March 2020, amidst the first rumblings of the extent of COVID-19 and its impending lockdown era, and with chess events going online, that Hikaru Nakamura first began broadcasting regularly on the Amazon-owned platform, averaging 2K live viewers.
With quarantine restrictions getting stricter, that number was only waiting to explode, which it did not long after. Such was the popularity of his plays and stunts that the athlete soon began going viral on the internet, leading to many fans seeking him out for advice and to learn the 1,500-year-old game.
In fact, his fame grew so much that prominent streamers began approaching him for learning and improving in chess. That was when he realized how the identity and image of the game were changing across the globe, and it soon had its watershed moment on the purple platform, growing from strength to strength since that fateful month three years back.
Hikaru Nakamura himself has grown exponentially alongside the sport he has helped make so popular. A look at this Twitch profile shows that his five most popular streams all came in a five-week stretch between February 8, 2021, and March 16, 2021. Number one on this list was the live broadcast of Wesley So beating Magnus Carlsen in the final of the Opera Euro Rapid tournament to bag a second straight win in the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. It was followed by the start of the Pogchamps 3 event, which had a $100K prize fund.
More proof of the success that chess has seen with the influx of streamers is the fact that the sportsperson's most watched broadcast on the purple platform remains his stream teaching Twitch pioneer Pokimane chess. The Morioccan-Canadian internet personality has participated in one Pogchamps event, finishing third in her group.
Today, there are chess tournaments worldwide online and offline that see hundreds and thousands of participants, all willing and able to show the world they are ready to take that next step toward greatness. In an interview in June 2020, Hikaru Nakamura, who has been commentating on, coaching at, and viewing these events alongside fans, said of this rapid change:
“It’s getting big exposure in a way that I don’t think has happened in a very long time.”
What has made Hikaru Nakamura so popular among Twitch users and content creators is the sheer lengths he goes to for making the game interesting. When playing randoms or other broadcasters, he would sometimes start without a queen and crush them. He even gets rid of more and more pieces at the beginning until the opponent only wins when the chess star has nothing. It has helped get millions onto the chess bandwagon, with thousands more enjoying the ride and continuing to watch the numerous games being played online, be it competitive or for fun.
Also, he comes across as someone who doesn't take himself too seriously, a far cry from the elitist and often snobbish attitudes that other big-name players and even fans have. In fact, the chess champ makes it a point to respect peers from other gaming and esports backgrounds, be it xQc's prowess in Overwatch or Boxbox’s expertise in League of Legends. That has endeared him even more to normal viewers and fellow online stars who just want to learn more about a game that has not been available to them too much, for one reason or the other.
However, it wasn’t always this way, in the man’s own words. Terming his position of chess ambassador on Twitch as his “calling,” he says, it all makes sense now. Hikaru Nakamura revealed in the same interview that after claiming his first championship in 2005, he went to the hotel lobby to play blitz/speed games with various audience members until late into the night:
“I’ve always wanted to bring it to the masses. When I work with streamers, I’m trying to get them to have fun, but also these ‘aha!’ moments. Moments where they see little combinations or little tricks, that’s really the goal. They’re not going to be great, but if they can learn something from it and they’re having fun, for me, that means I’m doing a good job.”
Today, as a full-time chess streamer on the most followed streaming site, his mission is to make chess more accessible to the masses and reduce the pervasive culture of elitism in the game. After all, some devotees of the sport are not too happy when welcoming newcomers who are learning and make mistakes in the process, especially if it's popular streamers who do so publicly.
To combat the issue and lead the line, Hikaru Nakamura openly addresses elitist attitudes on stream, including those who show him the same behavior. “Everyone doesn’t have their whole life to spend playing the game. Things happen in life and you have normal jobs and whatnot. So for me, it’s more important to bring the game to everyone than be like, ‘I’m better than these people.’”
He actually was one of those who were dismissive towards others perceived as less skilled, as a kid. In his own words, “I had a toxic period.” Having lost his cool and accused people of cheating or calling them names after losing, the internet sensation's perspective on this issue has now changed:
“You have to learn what you can and cannot do.”
Learn he certainly has, and to such an extent that in June 2023, he was the ninth most watched Sports channel across platforms (excluding YouTube Non-Gaming). For someone who grew up in the often toxic and snooty culture of chess and didn't favor newcomers who were not immediately good at the game, Hikaru Nakamura has taken quite the winded path to become the proud online daddy to many devotees, including big-time streamers, and a kind of final boss without whose approval (read, who needs to be beaten in a game) has gained a life of its own for players worldwide.
Of course, there is also the bonus that his success on Twitch has helped him further his career as a professional chess player and secure sponsorships, all the while contributing to his growing popularity. At the end of it all, the American's Twitch career has significantly impacted his personal brand and the popularity of chess as a streaming content category. Thanks to his combination of exceptional chess skills and entertaining content, the ancient board game has built a thriving community of chess enthusiasts, inspiring many to take it up along the way.
