Mon Oct 06 06:17:53 UTC 2025: **Nakamura’s King Toss Sparks Outrage After USA Whitewashes India in Checkmate Event**
ARLINGTON, TX – Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura’s victory over World Champion D Gukesh was overshadowed by controversy on Thursday after the USA’s 5-0 sweep of India in the inaugural Checkmate event.
Nakamura, playing with white, sealed the USA’s dominant win by defeating Gukesh but immediately sparked backlash by throwing Gukesh’s king piece into the crowd. The gesture, captured in a video that quickly went viral, drew sharp criticism on social media, with many condemning it as disrespectful and unsportsmanlike.
“I was winning, the crowd knew I was winning, so I was really happy to hear all the noise!” Nakamura said after beating Gukesh.
In stark contrast, Gukesh was observed calmly rearranging the pieces on the board after the match, earning praise from the chess community for his composure.
The Checkmate event, held in Arlington, featured new rules that eliminated draw offers and resignations, forcing players to play until checkmate, flagging, or theoretical draws.
The other matches saw Fabiano Caruana defeat Arjun Erigaisi, Carissa Yip defeat Divya Deshmukh, Levy Rozman defeat Sagar Shah, and Tani Adewumi defeat Ethan Vaz, completing the USA’s shutout.
“The second game was exactly what we want to see, which is chaos, nonsense,” said International Master Levy Rozman.
India will look to rebound in the second leg of the event, to be held in India, where they will have the advantage of playing with the white pieces.
First Piper 