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Chess Notes

Weekly chess column

Taking our cue from a popular song from the Broadway musical “Finian’s Rainbow,” we have often asked, “How are things with Nakamura?” The reason is that Hikaru Nakamura is the brightest hope in the United States to play for the world championship and to some degree emulate Bobby Fischer. Nakamura is Japanese and came here at age 2. He is now 26 and has failed to qualify for the next round of candidates to challenge world champion Magnus Carlsen.

Nakamura has been known as sort of a wild man of chess, delighting in bullet (one-minute) and blitz chess. Recently, he has appeared on the Reddit website and opened himself up to all manner of questions. In the process, he has shown himself to be a forthright, intelligent, and mellowed personality.  The interview is at www
.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1z09nu/im_gm
_hikaru_nakamura_1_us_chess_player_and
_top/. 
Nakamura was extraordinarily patient and on the whole explicit in the interview.

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Herewith, some comments on the information he provided. First, let us talk about his standing and his prospects.  Yes, he said he is the No. 3 player in the world (at the time of the interview). No, he is not in the candidates tournament this month, but must wait two years to try again. He notes that only four out of the top 10 players are in the current candidates’ tournament.  He has never beaten Carlsen but his optimism is based on the fact that in recent games he has been able to put great pressure on him. In his last tournament against Carlsen, he had a winning position; he said he lost though almost any other move would have won.

On chess in general, he most enjoyed it when he was in his teens but he still loves it and it pays the bills. He spends about two to three hours a day studying and using computers, but during some periods he just forgets about chess. He is the current World 960 champion (Fischer Random) but thinks it will not come into fashion. As an aggressive player, his favorites are Garry Kasparov, Bobby Fischer, and Mikhail Tal. Current players are stronger than Fischer, but Fischer would be able to catch up by using computers. Nakamura says tactics, not the end game or the openings, are most important, but spends a lot of time on openings.

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As to the social aspects of chess, he says the top grandmasters are in competition and do not hang out with each other the way they used to. Nakamura has occasionally played for an Italian team, attends soccer games in Italy, where his fiancée lives.

Thus our partial summary ends, but we can conclude that Hikaru Nakamura is an incipient national hero and here’s a wish that he fulfills his ambition.

Brevity: D. Moody vs. H. Nakamura (1996) 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 d6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Bc4 a6 7.Qe2 b5 8.Bb3 Ra7 9.0–0 Nc6 10.Bg5 Be7 11.Be3 Rd7 12.Nxb5 axb5 13.Qxb5 Bb7 14.Bb6 Qa8 15.Ba4 Bf6 16.Rac1 Nge7 17.Rfd1 0–0 18.e5 Bxe5 19.Nxe5 Nxe5 20.f4 Bc6; 0-1

Winners: Metrowest Groundhog Day Swiss — 1st-2d, Igor Foygel, Ilya Krasik, 2.5-0.5, 3d (tie), Vadim Martirosov, Lawyer Times, Daniil Mosiyenko, 2-1; Newburyport February — 1st, Frank Sisto, 4-0, 2d-4th, Kerry McDermott, Ron Burris, Arthur Nugent, 2.5-1.5.

Coming Events: Boylston Grand Prix, March 22, and BCC Scholastic, March 23, both at 240B Elm St., Somerville, www.boylstonchessclub.org; March 23, 4th Wakefield YMCA Chess (Scholastic) Tournament, 165 Broad Rock Road, Wakefield, R.I., RhodeIslandChess@yahoo.com.

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