Chess drama sparked after the finale of the Bullet Chess Championship.
Hikaru Nakamura is under extreme backlash after his controversial Grand Finals against Alireza Firouzja at the 2024 Bullet Chess Championship. The influential chess Grandmaster suffered a terrible finale run and was caught spewing offensive remarks against his opponent. His bad sportsmanship sparked outrage from fans and the community.
Who the f*ck do you think you are?
Hikaru Nakamura suffered a heavy loss in the Grand Final
In the annual Bullet Chess Championship, Hikaru Nakamura squared off against 20-year-old Alireza Firouzja. While Nakamura had an easy Upper Bracket run - surfing into the Grand Finals without any losses - Firouzja dropped to the Lower Bracket early and had to defeat five opponents before getting into the finale.
The Grand Finals series started with more than 15 minutes of delay, which Firouzja had asked for due to exhaustion. The French Iranian GM had played three series prior to the Grand Finals. He was visibly tired from the continuous grind. In an interview later, Firouzja stated that he was close to withdrawing from the finals as he was too exhausted to carry on.
Following the lengthy break, the Grand Final resumed but Nakamura quickly crumbled to lose his first life. In a shocking turnaround, the world's #3rd lost six consecutive games against Firouzja which ultimately led to a Grand Final reset.
The Grand Final reset was a closer battle but it turned in favor of Firouzja. In the deciding game, Nakamura heavily blundered. He resigned with 30 seconds left on the clock - crowning Alireza Firouzja as the champion of Bullet Chess Championship.
Nakamura complains to Chess.com about Firouzja's 20-minutes break
The most controversial point of this entire Nakamura-Firouzja drama was when Nakamura engaged in a heated conversation with Chess.com. He complained about how Firouzja was able to get a 20-minutes break on demand and messed with the schedule. Firouzja who was listening to the conversation chimed in to defend himself and Nakamura lashed back at his opponent.
In the first part of the clip, Nakamura stated that Firouzja's decision to take a 20 minutes break should be penalized. He also said that Firouzja was lying about his exhaustion and was able to perform well.
He does this to get a 20 minute break and then he comes back and does this. I’m sorry but no, there has to be some kind of penalty assessment for that. No, I mean this is nonsense. It’s a complete lie that he’s tired. Oh, he’s so tired that he can’t play? And then he does this. Like, I’m sorry but I’m just not gonna continue like this. I should not have allowed this to happen in the beginning but now I’m gonna put my foot down.
I was not relaxing. I was talking to them.
No, please, you don’t get to say this dude. You’re the one who claims that you want a break, the schedule’s wrong. No, I’m sorry but this is not how this works. Who the fuck do you think you are?! Seriously?
Related articles
More offensive remarks by Hikaru Nakamura prompts backlash
On top of the already unpleasant conversation between the two, Hikaru Nakamura would have more rants on stream where he addressed Alireza Firouzja in offensive remarks. The American streamer stated that Magnus Carlsen had to go through a similar tiring format previously but wasn't acting like a "little bitch about it".
He also stated that Alireza and his family cares a lot more about chess while also calling them "crazies". He also added that Firouzja never won when it mattered and pointed out his lackluster performance during the latest Candidates.
Firouzja cares a lot more about these things. Him, his dad, his brother, all those crazies care a lot more about these things than I ever will, fortunately.
Most fans and the chess community are upset at Nakamura's behavior and called out the streamer to give an apology to Firouzja. Some believes that he could've disagreed with the 20-minute break earlier and not after matches have ended. A part of the community also sees Nakamura's complains as tilted remarks following a rough loss in a title that he is most well known for.
As for now, there hasn't been any official statement from Nakamura regarding the incident. He did however, posted a "GG, well done" on Twitter/X to congratulate Firouzja.
We'll keep you updated with more chess news and updates on esports.gg!
