A high-voltage chess spectacle took place in Texas as the USA dominated the opening leg of the ‘Checkmate’ event, defeating India 5-0. While the American team’s clinical performance was impressive, it was Hikaru Nakamura’s post-match gesture that threw several chess lovers off.

In the headline match, World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura faced India’s 19-year-old prodigy D Gukesh. Gukesh managed to hold Nakamura to draws in the 10-minute and 5-minute rapid segments. Despite the pressure, Nakamura ultimately outplayed the young Indian Grandmaster. The decisive moment came in the final one-minute bullet round, where Nakamura cornered Gukesh’s king and executed a checkmate with Qd8.

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What drew attention, however, was Nakamura’s unconventional celebration. Rather than a handshake or nod, he theatrically tossed Gukesh’s king piece into the audience. The act was seen by many netizens as a rarity in the traditionally restrained proceedings of professional chess.

Watch Hikaru’s celebration video

Other American victories included Fabiano Caruana defeating Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi, Carissa Yip upsetting Divya Deshmukh, Levy Rozman beating Sagar Shah and Tani Adewumi overcoming Ethan Vaz.

Shortly after the victory, Hikaru said, “From the start, if I won I was always gonna throw the King – the fact that it was a dramatic bullet game made it even better. I hope the fans enjoyed it”

All part of the show?

Critics on the internet called the act disrespectful, with one commenting, “A grown man tossing his opponent’s King who’s half his age into the crowd. Real classy, Hikaru.” Another read, “Gukesh is clearly NOT the same level as Hikaru, Fabi or Magnus. But, yeah, this is a little excessive.”

Supporters argued that the theatrics were sanctioned to make the event more entertaining. “It was literally told to them that they can show any aggression. It was a fun event to make chess fun for more people,” one user commented. Yet others maintained that, regardless of intent, the gesture crossed a line. “Hikaru is not like this usually…Nevertheless, it destroys the sanctity of the game irrespective of the results,” read another comment.