Christopher Hikaru Nakamura (born December 9, 1987) is an American chess grandmaster, streamer, YouTuber, five-time U.S.Chess Champion, and the reigning 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 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 Tournament, finishing second in 2024 edition, fourth in 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; he has remained at or near the No. 1 rank in rapid and blitz ever since.
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 the most popular chess streamer and has been credited with contributing to the growth in popularity of online chess.
HIKARU NAKAMURA
