Magnus Carlsen playing in 2019
Magnus Carlsen
Hikaru Nakamura
Hikaru Nakamura
The rivalry has been described as one of the best in chess

The Carlsen-Nakamura rivalry is a chess rivalry that exists between grandmasters Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura. Considered to be one of the best in the sport,[1] it features two of the most recognizable faces in modern chess.

Carlsen is the highest rated chess player in history and a 5 time world champion, while Nakamura is currently ranked 3rd in the world (as of September 2023) and the reigning Fischer Random World Champion. The two have dominated quick chess, with Carlsen being a 4 time World Rapid Chess Champion and a 6 time World Blitz Chess Champion, while Nakamura has been ranked number 1 or near number 1 in both blitz and Rapid since FIDE started publishing the lists, and having won the Chess.com Speed Chess Championships from 2018 to 2022, losing to Carlsen in the 2023 Championship.[2][3] The two regularly meet in Chess.com Titled Tuesday tournaments, are regularly rated over 3200 in blitz on chess.com and even exhibition games between the two are highly anticipated. However, Nakamura is more prevalent in online chess (such as that on Chess.com), while Carlsen is considered the more complete player (especially in classical) and is widely acclaimed as the greatest active player and arguably the greatest player of all time; Hikaru has stated that in his view, Carlsen is the greatest player of all time, and unquestionably so if he retains his number 1 ranking for a few years longer.[4]

According to chessgames.com database, as of 2023, Carlsen leads head to head against Nakamura in Classical games, 14 to 1 with 25 draws. In quicker games and exhibition games, Carlsen leads 87 to 37 with 114 draws.[5]

History

Nakamura vs Carlsen from the Tata Steel 2013
Carlsen-Nakamura rivalry has been compared to the famous Messi-Ronaldo rivalry.

Prior to 2016, Hikaru Nakamura had never beaten Magnus Carlsen in a Classical game of chess. He finally broke through with the black pieces at the 2016 Bilbao Masters.[6] As of 2023, this remains Nakamura's only victory against Carlsen in classical chess.

The rivalry has earned comparisons to the other great rivalries in sports history, like the Federer–Nadal rivalry in tennis, or the Messi-Ronaldo rivalry in soccer.[7] In 2022 ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi posted a picture for an advertisement where they posed playing chess. The position on the board was taken from a game played between Carlsen and Nakamura.[8][9]

2019 World Blitz Chess Championship

At the 2019, World Blitz Chess Championship, Magnus and Hikaru could not be separated at the end of the regular tournament. Two additional tiebreak games were necessary, where Magnus Carlsen prevailed, earning his 5th title and 3rd in a row.[10]

2022 World Fischer Random Championship

On his way to winning the 2022 World Fischer Random Championship in a tight final against Ian Nepomniachtchi, Hikaru met Magnus Carlsen in a mini match on day 1 of the tournament. The first game ended in a draw, while in the second game, Magnus Carlsen made an uncharacteristic blunder costing him the game and giving Hikaru the win.[11]

Chess.com Speed Chess Championship

Carlsen and Nakamura have played four times in the finals of the Chess.com Speed Chess Championship -- in 2016, 2017, 2022 and 2023. In the first two finals, Carlsen won 14.5-10.5 and 18-9. The 2022 match started off with Hikaru taking an early lead and capitalizing on several blunders by Carlsen, however, the match equalized and was close until the end, with Nakamura prevailing after taking a one-point lead and Carlsen being unable to finish the last game in time, Nakamura winning the match 14.5-13.5.[12] In 2023, Carlsen won the championship, beating Nakamura in the finals 13.5-12.5.[13]

2023 Airthings Masters

In the 2023 Airthings Masters, Carlsen met Nakamura twice. In the first match, all games were drawn but Carlsen won due to Armageddon rules.[14] In the second match, Carlsen won the first game, and Nakamura missed a chance to win the third game, thus giving Carlsen the victory.

Relationship between Carlsen and Nakamura

Nakamura has stated that despite their strong rivalry and intense matches, the two have an amicable relationship stemming from their mutual respect.[15] Carlsen has on numerous occasions praised Hikaru as a strong player.

The two have also shared multiple humorous moments. On March 15, 2021, Magnus Carlsen, playing white, led with the Bongcloud Attack in a game against Nakamura at the Magnus Carlsen Invitational. Nakamura mirrored the opening with 2. ... Ke7, leading to a position nicknamed the "Double Bongcloud".[16] The game was intentionally drawn by threefold repetition after the players immediately repeated moves, the particular sequence they used known as the "Hotbox Variation". The game occurred in the last round of the preliminary stage of the tournament, and both players had already qualified for the following knockout stage, making the game a superfluous performance. It marked the first recorded occurrence of 1. e4 e5 2. Ke2 Ke7 in a major tournament.[17][18]

References

  1. ↑ "Chess' big beasts go head-to-head in grand final with $30,000 on the line". CNN.
  2. ↑ Levin (AnthonyLevin), Anthony (2023-09-22). "Speed Chess Championship 2023 (Final): Carlsen Claims 2023 SCC Title With Double Rook Sacrifice". Chess.com. Retrieved 2023-09-23.
  3. ↑ West (NM_Vanessa), Vanessa. "Nakamura Wins 5th Speed Chess Championship". Chess.com. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  4. ↑ "Lex Fridman Podcast: Hikaru Nakamura: Chess, Magnus, Kasparov, and the Psychology of Greatness". Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  5. ↑ https://www.chessgames.com/perl/ezsearch.pl?search=Carlsen+vs+Nakamura
  6. ↑ Doggers (PeterDoggers), Peter. "Nakamura Finally Beats Carlsen, Leads In Bilbao". Chess.com. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  7. ↑ "Chess' big beasts go head-to-head in grand final with $30,000 on the line". CNN.
  8. ↑ https://olympics.com/en/news/lionel-messi-cristiano-ronaldo-chess-picture-louis-vuitton-instagram
  9. ↑ "This Ronaldo-Messi chess position from Louis Vuitton's ad is inspired by Magnus Carlsen vs Hikaru Nakamura game". Business Today. 2022-11-21. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  10. ↑ "World Blitz Championships: Magnus grabs the triple crown!". Chess News. 2019-12-30. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  11. ↑ https://chess24.com/en/read/news/fischer-random-1-hikaru-beats-magnus
  12. ↑ West (NM_Vanessa), Vanessa. "Nakamura Wins 5th Speed Chess Championship". Chess.com. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  13. ↑ Levin (AnthonyLevin), Anthony (2023-09-22). "Speed Chess Championship 2023 (Final): Carlsen Claims 2023 SCC Title With Double Rook Sacrifice". Chess.com. Retrieved 2023-09-23.
  14. ↑ "Chess' big beasts go head-to-head in grand final with $30,000 on the line". CNN.
  15. ↑ "Hikaru Nakamura: Chess, Magnus, Kasparov, and the Psychology of Greatness | Lex Fridman Podcast #330". YouTube.
  16. ↑ Graham, Bryan Armen (2021-03-18). "Double bongcloud: why grandmasters are playing the worst move in chess". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  17. ↑ Graham, Bryan Armen (2021-03-18). "Double bongcloud: why grandmasters are playing the worst move in chess". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  18. ↑ "Chess World Champion Plays 'Bongcloud Attack' Meme Opening in Tournament". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
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