Chess Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura Is Demolishing Opponents On Twitch
Hikaru Nakamura is generating plenty of new interest in chess, showcasing his immense talent on Twitch.
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Brace yourselves – chess is becoming cool again.
Chess Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura is growing rapidly on Twitch, currently sitting at over 230,000 followers and averaging around 15,000 concurrent viewers as of this week. He has a storied career in professional chess, achieving 5 US championship titles alongside a peak worldwide rating of #2 via 2015 FIDE ratings. But Hikaru’s undeniable chess skill isn’t the only reason why he is becoming so popular.
Destiny commented on the matter on Trainwrecks’ podcast. After giving the game of chess a backhanded compliment, he praised Hikaru, stating, “that dude is really funny – really entertaining. He networks with people. I think you could get literally any game to go big on Twitch if you had the right name behind it.” After viewing the Grandmaster’s broadcasts, Destiny’s remarks appear quite accurate.
Hikaru’s streams are captivating. Audience members don’t necessarily have to be interested in chess to enjoy his content, despite the game always being its central element. This is largely due to Hikaru’s likability. He operates his streams with high levels of chat interactivity, going along with current memes and frequently viewing clips that are offered up. He also received a large amount of exposure by giving xQc chess lessons on the platform.
Hikaru’s recent success has been generally well-received by other personalities on the platform. Except for certain colleagues in the chess field, that is.
Ben Finegold is another chess Grandmaster with a particularly strong personality. Clearly, he’s not too happy with Hikaru’s success and collaborative nature with other Twitch personalities. Hikaru, however, has been a vocal critic of chess elitism. Despite his skill, he’s done a great job staying humble and handles feedback well.
Sure, Hikaru is a bit geeky and quirky, but his self-awareness and ability to roll with humor has earned him a loyal fanbase. In fact, the chess player is quite fond of the prospect of being a full-time streamer. He’s already amassed over 5000 subscribers (plenty of financial stability) and remarked that Twitch streaming just might be his “calling in life.”
Hopefully, Hikaru continues to bring chess into the mainstream on Twitch. It’s great to see so much interest generated around a classic, over-the-board game. With any luck, we’ll continue to see more talented creators bring wholesome, diverse content to the platform.
Source: Twitch
Link Source : https://www.thegamer.com/twitch-chess-grandmaster-hikaru-nakamura/