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With one single toss of Gukesh’s king piece into the air at an exhibition game, Hikaru Nakamura split the world of chess down the middle with many in the sport like ex-world champion Vladimir Kramnik and FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky taking umbrage to the act. But there were also others like Anish Giri who felt that Nakamura’s tennis-style celebration was not a big deal.
Now, the co-owner of the American Gambits team, Prachura PP, has launched an impassioned defence of the American grandmaster, who represents his team in the Global Chess League. Cricketer R Ashwin is also one of the co-owners.
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“I definitely don’t think what Hikaru did disrespected chess. You have to see at which tournament he did it. What was the occasion, right? This was an informal event, a fun event where spectators were allowed to cheer loudly. Generally, chess spectators are requested to be silent. So already it was a different setting than the traditional way that chess is held. Then, consider this: in tennis, after a player wins the match, you see that they hit balls into the stands, right? In football, you see players constantly throwing jerseys to the crowd, right? I can give many more examples of different sports. Why can’t a chess player throw a piece here? What’s the big deal as long as Gukesh did not take offence on that. He took it like a sportsman that he is. I don’t know what others are worried about here. What is the big deal?” Prachura told The Indian Express in an interview on Monday.
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He continued: “I mean, how else are we going to get more people watching the game, excited to come watch chess and so on? I mean, if things like this don’t happen, how do we drive audiences to come and watch the game live? And if we don’t do that, how will chess as a sport grow? Chess has always been projected as an elite game with people playing with a sportsman’s spirit. We always shake hands before we start the game and then after the game, we always congratulate the opponent saying good game. But that has not helped the game of chess traditionally, correct? Hikaru did not disrespect Gukesh. He shook hands with Gukesh. He just threw a piece. He doesn’t have anything else to throw to the crowd. He can’t remove his shirt and throw it!”
Over the past year, Prachura has come to know Nakamura personally as part of the Gambits team in the Global Chess League where the World No 2 was an icon player. One of the most outspoken players in the sport, Nakamura is also one of the most popular streamers in the chess ecosystem. He has gone to the extent of calling himself a streamer first and chess player second.
Talking about Nakamura’s personality behind the scenes, Prachura said: “He’s a showman. He came to the event to entertain people and he entertained. Nakamura as a person is a very sweet guy off the board. He’s also someone who’s been at the top for over a decade now. But I have never seen him deny photos with fans. Even on his bad days, he’s always giving autographs. Unlike other players, he’ll put an arm around fans for photos. He’s not a cocky guy.
“He genuinely wants to grow the game of chess. That’s the reason he even participates in GCL or these exhibition events.”
The incident does set up a spicy clash between Gukesh and Nakamura at the upcoming Global Chess League, where the two will face off as icon players for their teams. While Gukesh and Nakamura are slotted to play a few games in St Louis in another exhibition event, the GCL will be played in India.
“Hikaru versus Gukesh is going to be an epic, especially since Magnus Carlsen is not playing. Hikaru versus Gukesh is basically the match to see in the GCL this season,” predicts Prachura.
