Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura produced a dazzling win over World Champion D Gukesh as the USA overpowered India with a resounding 5-0 whitewash in the first-ever Checkmate event in Arlington, United States. But Nakamura’s post-win celebration became controversial when he dramatically threw Gukesh’s king into the crowd moments after achieving the win for Team USA.
HIKARU THROWS A PIECE TO THE CROWD TO CELEBRATE THE USA 5-0! @GMHikaru
What an event!! 🔥👏 @CheckmateUSAIND pic.twitter.com/LGnM8JLulJ---Advertisement---— Chess.com (@chesscom) October 5, 2025
This move elicited polarized reactions online, with most observers condemning it as excessive and inconsiderate. The video of Nakamura’s move went viral on social media in a matter of seconds. As for Gukesh, he peacefully resumed resetting the pieces on the board, with a global round of applause from the chess community abroad for his exemplary sportsmanship.
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The game was characterized by sharp moments and a number of chances on both sides, but the USA stepped up whenever it mattered most to win their games.
With the black pieces, the Indian team had a difficult task and will now seek to recover when they receive the white pieces in the second half of the tournament, scheduled to be held in India.
In other games, Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi lost to Fabiano Caruana, and Grandmaster Divya Deshmukh suffered an upset defeat at the hands of International Master Carissa Yip. International Master Levy Rozman also beat Sagar Shah, and chess sensation Ethan Vaz lost to International Master Tani Adewumi.
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This Checkmate edition contained some novel rules amendments. Chess.com states that organizers took away players’ ability to offer draws a staple of chess and, albeit unexpectedly, prohibited resignations as well. The games had to go on until a checkmate, a time forfeiture (flagging), or theoretically a drawn position like bare kings were reached, resulting in an exhausting and conclusive tournament.
