Hikaru Nakamura

World rank: No. 2 (October 2026)
Rating: 2792
Peak rating: 2816 (October 2015)
Title: Grandmaster (2003)
Federation: United States
Born: December 9, 1987, Hirakata, Japan (age 38)
FIDE ID: 2016192

The world No. 2 and one of chess’s most popular streamers. Nakamura became a grandmaster at 15, then the youngest American to do so, and has won five U.S. titles and the 2022 World Fischer Random Championship.

Since 2018 he has built a second career as a content creator on Twitch, YouTube and Kick, signing with esports organisations TSM, Misfits Gaming and now Team Falcons.

He has played four Candidates Tournaments, finishing second in 2024. He entered the 2026 edition as top seed after a controversial run of amateur events to meet FIDE’s 40-game rule, but finished fifth, undone partly by a 67-minute think against eventual winner Javokhir Sindarov.

Career highlights

Five-time U.S. Champion
2022 World Fischer Random Champion
Second at the 2024 Candidates
World No. 1 on FIDE's first rapid and blitz lists (2014)
Peak rating 2816

Titles

Norway Chess: 2023
U.S. Chess Championship: 2005, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2019
Grand Chess Tour: 2018
London Chess Classic: 2013, 2018
Tata Steel Chess Tournament: 2011

From the winners lists on our event pages.

Hikaru Nakamura in The Chess Herald

Oct 19, 2026Total Chess Rating Puts Carlsen at 2830, 51 Points Clear
Oct 14, 2026Caruana Wins Titled Tuesday on a U.S. Championship Rest Day
Oct 11, 2026Weekly Recap: Samarkand Afterglow, Fagernes Heats Up and Caruana Eyes a Record
Oct 10, 2026Caruana Chases a Fifth Straight US Title, and Reshevsky's Record
Oct 8, 2026Chess960 Explained: Why Freestyle Shuffles the Pieces

Show all 18 articles

Oct 7, 2026Artemiev Beats Nakamura in the Final Round of Titled Tuesday
Oct 4, 2026Nakamura Wins a Fourth Straight Bullet Brawl With a Score of 155
Oct 4, 2026Weekly Recap: Turlov Takes Over FIDE as Uzbekistan Wins Gold in Samarkand
Oct 2, 2026Caruana Heads a 12-Player U.S. Championship Field in Saint Louis
Oct 2, 2026Sindarov Within Two Points of Caruana After Samarkand
Sep 30, 2026Wesley So Starts 7/7 and Wins Titled Tuesday Outright
Sep 29, 2026Nakamura Wins Bullet Brawl Again, This Time by 25 Points
Sep 27, 2026Weekly Recap: Uzbekistan's Wild Ride Through the Samarkand Olympiad
Sep 26, 2026Carlsen Edges Nakamura on Tiebreaks in 3+0 Thursday
Sep 20, 2026Weekly Recap: Samarkand's Double Olympiad and FIDE's Newest World Title Backer
Sep 15, 2026Nakamura's 66th Bullet Brawl Win Extends an Absurd Streak
Sep 4, 2026Renato Terry's Bullet Arena Dominance Echoes Titled Tuesday's Nakamura Era
Aug 30, 2026Nakamura's 65th Bullet Brawl Win Is the Latest Chapter in a Two-Decade Bullet Reign

FIDE profile · Wikipedia
Profile last reviewed September 29, 2026. Ratings update monthly from FIDE.