On Chess: Nakamura Misses Chance to Topple World Champion
By MIKE WILMERING
He came close this time. The great white whale was in his sights. His elbow was cocked, and in his hand the harpoon was ready to deliver the fatal blow. And then it all disappeared.
Over the weekend, St. Louisan and U.S. No. 1 Hikaru Nakamura let slip his first-ever victory against the reigning World Champion, Magnus Carlsen. Nakamura quickly went from a winning position to completely lost in round three of the recently concluded Zurich Chess Challenge 2014.
In the 23 classical games the two have played against one another, Nakamura has never beaten Carlsen, losing eight times and drawing 15. This was, almost certainly, the closest Nakamura has come to scoring that elusive first victory against the No. 1 player in the world.
In chess, the slightest misstep can completely change the outcome of a game. When you’re playing the World Champion, a win can turn into a loss in an instant. And that loss can be the defining point of the tournament.
….In a recent article in New in Chess magazine, Nakamura is quoted as stating he views himself as the biggest threat to Carlsen at the moment. ..
Full article here.
Are there any (reasonably playable) wins other than the Qf1 Rxh7 line? Nobody on commentary was advocating anything like this, in fact they were advocating what Nakamura played and had to be told about what happened to the eval after d6.
The biggest threat to Magnus is not a chess player.
Hikaru is a great player.
“The biggest threat to Magnus is not a chess player.”
What is it? AIDS?
Only computer can beat Magnus.
“… he views himself as the biggest threat to Carlsen at the moment…”
See, that’s his problem right there.
Nakamura seems to be playing the game of life blindfolded.
Thank you for the article
Nothing wrong with a media PR especially as he very nearly proved his point. As they say the good player is always lucky as Magnus was that day.
Of course is Carlsen is Sauron then I guess that makes Hikaru – Frodo or Gandalf.
Hikaru is a great top 10 player whether he’s got it in him to be a challenger in the next cycle remains to be seen
A guy who could not convert a winning position into a win will never be a threat to Carlsen. It’s clear that he could not hold his composure all the way against MC, that’s why he has never won.
Nakamura is already in his prime and has hit his ceiling. Let’s look past this so-called “great”. The real threats to Carlsen are still in the works. Perhaps Wei Yi in 5 years.
He has never won against Carlsen and has lost 8 times. Getting a winning position ONCE, and not even winning it, is not a big deal and does not suddenly make him a threat to the World Champion.
American chess writers are so desperate for a chess great. They’ve never had one in 40 years, and they’re trying to create a bigger player out of Naka than he actually is. Even the title “…Misses Chance to Topple World Champion” is so badly-worded, you’d think he almost became World Champion himself. Pathetic.
There are many players who have actually beaten Carlsen in the last 3 years, including a very young Anish Giri who once crushed MC in 22 moves. Yet none of them is being called a “threat” to Carlsen. It’s this guy who has never won and has lost 8 times who is seen as a threat. All because of a one-time winning game which he eventually managed to lose.
Anish Giri has plateaued for his young age. He is a pretender.
Wesley So is a contender. He will be a serious threat to MC in 2 years!
I’m 43, have an ELO about 1950 and really, when i play a ELO +2200, i…i….(almost) outplay them. But then i play d6 and god willing, i lose. Happens all the time! Nevertheless, beware Hikaru, i’m your biggest threat!
As a big fan of nakamura’s blitz play i can safely say that if nakamura is carlsen’s biggest threat, he will be champion for a long , long time….