Chess is one of the most challenging and toughest board games. A player shouldn’t just plan his own moves, but he/she should be capable of anticipating the opponent’s next move. And not everyone out there can master the skills so well! A handful of them make it to the epitome of their career and can play the game spectacularly! So, today, we’re going to discuss a person who had mastered this game at a very tender age. Well, you must have guessed it by now! We’re talking about no one other than Hikaru Nakamura. Aren’t you eager to learn more about this chess prodigy? So, if you’re a fan of Hikaru Nakamura or chess as a game, this is precisely the right place that you’ve stumbled upon! Scroll down, and you’ll know more about Hikaru Nakamura net worth, early life, achievements, and so much more!
Table of Contents
Early life
Hikaru Nakamura was born on December 9, 1987, in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. And his family moved to the USA in 1989 when he was only two years old. However, he started playing chess at the tender age of 7 and was coached by his stepfather – Sunil Weeramantry.
Chess Career
Hikaru Nakamura was the youngest American to beat an International Master – Jay Bonin when he was ten years old. Plus, he also became the youngest American to earn the title of chess Grandmaster when he was only 15 years and 79 days old. Moreover, he is a 5-time US champion, where he claimed the title in 2005, 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2019. Also, he participated in the 2004 FIDE World Championship as well.
Achievements
Here are his achievements over the years:
- In July 2002, he ranked 56th in the World Open Tournament held in Philadelphia.
- In 2005, he won the US Chess Championship by scoring 7 points over nine rounds. And in the 7th round, he beat the then top-ranked player in the nation – Gregory Kaidanov.
- Nakamura’s peak FIDE rating was 2816 in October 2015, which ranked him second worldwide.
- He achieved his peak UFSC rating of 2900 in August 2015.
- In 2009 he wrote a book named Bullet Chess: One Minute to Mate. It became a huge success and marked his debut as an author though he hasn’t written any other book since then.
Hikaru Nakamura has achieved a lot over the years, and bigger achievements we are going to list down below!
Notable games
Nakamura has played a lot of games over the years, but here we’re only going to list a handful of them:
2009: Second US Championship
The championship was held in St. Louis, Missouri, in May. Nakamura went on to win the game by scoring 7/9 and attaining the first position, leaving behind his opposition Robert Hess.
2011: Tata Steel Group Victory
This win at Wijk aan Zee was one of Nakamura’s most significant achievements throughout his career. He gave a tough time to his opponents like Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanath Anand, and Magnus Carlsen. He secured 1st place, leaving behind all his opponents, and became the first American to win the Wijk aan Zee since 1980. Nakamura’s rating jumped from 2751 to 2774 after this tournament.
2013: Top FIDE Blitz Rating
He did not participate in the 2013 US Championship and instead played other games. He participated and won the blitz chess tournament and rose through the ratings, and became the top-rated player in the world at that time with a total rating of 2879.
2015: Fourth US Championship and other wins
In January, Nakamura won the Gibraltar Chess Masters tournament. He went on to win the Zurich Chess Challenge in February. His FIDE rating went up to 2798 in March, which was the highest rating in his career at that time. In April, Nakamura defended his title of the US Chess Champion for the fourth time. Eventually, in the year, his rating went up to his career-high of 2814.
2019: Fifth US Championship and other successes
Nakamura won his fifth US Chess Championship title in March by scoring 8/11. He defeated the Ukrainian Grandmaster, Olexandr Bortnyk, and won the Bullet Chess Championship the following April.
Personal life
Hikaru Nakamura’s mother, Carolyn Merrow Nakamura, an American, was a trained singer. And his father, Shuichi Nakamura, a Japanese, was a former school teacher. Also, he has an elder brother – Asuka Nakamura.
Nakamura’s parents got divorced in 1990 when he was only three years old. However, he developed his liking towards chess after his stepfather, Sunil Weeramantry, started coaching the brothers after Asuka won the National Kindergarten Championship in 1992.
Hikaru Nakamura Net Worth
According to several reports, the richest chess player of all time is Hikaru Nakamura. His net worth is approximated to be around $50 million. Nakamura’s contemporaries stand nowhere near this figure, making him the greatest and richest chess player in recent times.
Hikaru Nakamura Net Worth 2020
With an annual salary of $330,000 (approx.), Hikaru Nakamura net worth stands at $50 million in the year 2020. Reports expect the figures to grow over the coming years.
Why is Hikaru Nakamura so rich?
Apart from earning from the tournaments worldwide, another thing has added profoundly to Hikaru Nakamura’s net worth over the years. From 2015 onwards, he started streaming on the top-rated gaming platform – Twitch.
As of August 2021, his Twitch subscribers stand at a whopping 1.3 million. Online chess tournaments have become the major source of income for Nakamura since the lockdown in 2020. A majority of his followers on Twitch pay to get access to the exclusive chess content he provides online.
According to online reports and estimations, he made a whopping $198,832 from January to August 2020.
His YouTube channel also adds significantly to his $50 million net worth. His channel – GMHikaru, has a total of 1.1 million subscriptions. The total views on his channel as of now stand at 265.41 million. And the estimated monthly monetization capability of his YouTube channel is anywhere between $12.97k – $40.17k. Other than this, YouTube advertisements also add significantly to his monthly revenue.
Moreover, his social media accounts also play a significant role in adding to his monthly income and net worth of $50 million.
Hikaru Nakamura Social Media
Hikaru Nakamura is thoroughly active overall on these social media accounts. You can follow Nakamura on these following social media handles:
Twitch
He streams regularly on this massive gaming platform. If you guys are interested in chess, then make sure you follow him on his Twitch account – GMHikaru. His subscription stands at 1.3 million as of August 2021.
YouTube
Nakamura makes sure to upload videos of his tournaments and online gaming on his channel regularly. His channel – GMHikaru, has a massive following of 1.1 million, and we’re sure you won’t mind joining his online family.
Hikaru regularly tweets about his life and games on Twitter. His account – @GMHikaru, has a total following of 345k. Apart from tweeting about his life and the world around him, he updates his Twitter family about his live streams on YouTube and Twitch. So, what are you waiting for? Go and follow him ASAP.
His Facebook page – Hikaru Nakamura, has 175k followers. Pretty similar to his Twitter account, you can get updates about his gaming tournaments, get notified about his live streams on Twitch, and get a glimpse about his day-to-day happenings with his friends and family.
You can connect more with him if you check out his Instagram handle. You can get an elaborate idea about his life over there. He posts about food, his travel locations, his quality time with friends and family, and OF COURSE, about chess tournaments. So, aren’t you going to follow him @gmhikaru and add to his 223k family?
Hikaru Nakamura Quotes
We’ve listed down below some of the quotes shared by the chess prodigy. We’re sure they would inspire you and make you feel more connected with him. Nakamura has some advice for life and about kids who want to pursue chess in the future, and he also talks about his feelings about the game.
- “Critical thinking is the most important factor with chess. As it is in life, you need to think before you make decisions.”
- “Chess is a game where all different sorts of people come together, not a game in which people are divided because of their religion or country of origin.”
- “Chess is a great game. It’s a lot of fun, but sometimes you wonder what else is out there.”
- “I like the feeling when you don’t have much time, and you have to think fast.”
- “It’s easy to become angry, but when you get better, you channel your energy to the game.”
- “It’s certainly an honor to have kids who are looking up to me, but at the same time, I’m just trying to do what I can to raise the profile of chess.”
- “I’m not a mad genius.”
- “Because of the internet, chess is not about your nationality or your background. Anyone can get good at it now.”
- “The first championship in 2005 will always be the most special, but winning this fifth one was by far my best performance because of the strength of the field.”
Contemporaries
In the chess community, Hikaru Nakamura has many competitors. But the one who is immensely talked about is Magnus Carlsen.
Magnus Carlsen is a Norwegian chess grandmaster. He is currently the World Chess Champion, World Blitz Chess Champion, and World Rapid Chess Champion. And he reached the top of the World FIDE rankings in 2010. Also, Carlsen holds the record of the longest unbeaten run in classical chess.
In the long-running rivalry between these two prodigies, Carlsen has a record of 12 wins, 19 draws, and only one loss to Nakamura in his entire career.
Magnus Carlsen Net Worth
Though being the best chess player globally, Carlsen comes nowhere near Nakamura in terms of net worth. With humongous incomes in chess tournaments, his net worth stands at $8 million.
Magnus Carlsen Net Worth 2021
Despite defeating his arch-rival Hikaru Nakamura, Magnus Carlsen fails even to come close to his net worth. According to online reports, Carlsen has a net worth of $8 million in 2021.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Now that you Hikaru Nakamura Net Worth, let’s check out some FAQs.
Here are the most frequently asked questions about Hikaru Nakamura and his life:
What is Hikaru Nakamura’s height?
He is 165cm tall.
How old is Hikaru Nakamura?
Nakamura was born on December 9, 1987. He is currently 34 years old.
Who is Hikaru Nakamura’s wife?
The chess prodigy is yet to get married. But he has been dating Mariagrazia De Rosa since 2013. There’s no speculation about his marriage yet.
What is Hikaru Nakamura’s net worth?
Hikaru Nakamura’s net worth stands at $50 million. It is the highest for any chess player all over the world.
Where does Hikaru Nakamura stay?
We still don’t have much information about his residence. The only thing we can tell you is he lives in the USA and is reported to have bought a house in Sunrise the past year.
How many cars does Hikaru Nakamura own?
We can see glimpses of his cars on his Instagram handle, but there is no precise information about what car/cars he owns.
Who are Hikaru Nakamura’s parents?
Nakamura’s mother’s name is Carolyn Merrow Nakamura, and his father’s name is Shuichi Nakamura.
Who is Hikaru Nakamura’s biggest rival?
Magnus Carlsen has been his longest rival against whom he has only won once in his entire career.
When has Hikaru Nakamura won the US title?
Hikaru Nakamura is a 5-time US Chess Championship winner. He has claimed the title in 2005, 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2019.
When did he earn the title of the chess Grandmaster?
Nakamura was a chess prodigy. He earned the title of chess Grandmaster when he was only 15 years and 79 days old back in the year 2003.
Final Thoughts
We have come to the end of our article, and we wish all the best to the career of this immensely talented chess prodigy. Also, we have mentioned about his contempories and how Mr. Nakamura has stood out among the rest. So, if you also wish to take up chess as your career, you must go this life struggles and learn from him. We indeed have a lot to learn from his life and take inspiration. We send our best wishes to Hikaru Nakamura’s career and hope he flourishes further in his career.