Hikaru Nakamura

Biography

Christopher Hikaru Nakamura (Japanese: 中村光; born December 9, 1987) is an American chess grandmaster, internet personality, five-time U.S. Chess Champion, and the 2022 World Fischer Random Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he earned his grandmaster title at the age of 15, the youngest American at the time to do so. With a peak rating of 2816, Nakamura is tied as the tenth-highest-rated player in history. Nakamura has represented the United States at seven Chess Olympiads (2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018), securing a team gold medal and two team bronze medals, and participated in three Candidates Tournaments, finishing second in the 2024 edition, fourth in the 2022 edition, and seventh in the 2016 edition. In May 2014, when FIDE began publishing official rapid and blitz chess ratings, Nakamura ranked No. 1 in the world on both lists. Since 2018, Nakamura has pursued a career as a content creator and subsequently signed with an esports organization TSM, later joining Misfits Gaming and then Team Falcons. Having popular channels on Twitch, Kick and YouTube, Nakamura is one of the most popular chess streamers in the world, and is widely credited with contributing to the growth in popularity of online chess.