Hikaru Nakamura Five-time US Champion and one of the best speed-chess players ever
American five-time US Champion, world's top blitz player, peak rating 2816. Nakamura is a fighter. He is at his best in sharp, unbalanced positions and in fast time controls, where his speed of calculation and his resourcefulness in defence decide many games.
Hikaru Nakamura: key facts
- Full name
- Hikaru Nakamura
- Born
- December 9, 1987, Hirakata, Japan
- Country
- United States
- Title
- Grandmaster
- Peak rating
- 2816
- Games in the archive
- 9,750 (1997–2026)
- Record in the archive
- 5,515 wins · 2,714 draws · 1,521 losses
- Win rate
- 56.6%
Hikaru Nakamura's career
The results that made the name
Nakamura in numbers
From the 9,750 games in the Rama Chess archive
Five-time United States Champion, a grandmaster at fifteen, and among the strongest speed players who has ever lived — repeatedly world number one at blitz. He qualified for the Candidates through the 2023 Grand Swiss, and as a streamer he has done more than anyone to bring chess to a mainstream audience.
"I always try to take what the position offers."— Hikaru Nakamura
Nakamura's most frequent opponents
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