Nakamura’s Lightning Speed Calculations or a Genius Foresight!?

Nakamura's Lightning Speed Calculations or a Genius Foresight!?

Pic Credit - Chess.com

We all know that beating the world champion, Magnus Carlsen, always requires something special. All the top elite chess players aim to overpower and beat the champ, but in most of the cases, Magnus is just too strong! 

However, in the first round of the Magnus invitational tournament on chess24, the speed king and American hero Hikaru Nakamura managed to beat Carlsen in a game which I would like to draw the readers attention.

It is well known that Naka has a minus score against Carlsen and a win for Naka against Magnus is always a great boost for Naka’s fans! But I have not selected this game just for the result and triumph of Nakamura, rather for a deep move played by him, which impressed me a lot!

As a coach for many years now, I always try to understand what is going on in the minds of my students and top players alike. I always try to uncover the mysteries behind the decisions made by chess players.

Let us witness the genius of Hikaru Nakamura in this article!

We join the game, Nakamura vs. Carlsen, in a critical position.

Find the best move for white!

Please take a few minutes and try to find the move that Naka played in this position.

Does 1. Qe5 win for white?

Now let us check the game with my comments and analysis!

I hope you enjoyed this article!

Do let me know your views in the comments section below.

The question still remains in my mind – How was Nakamura able to find the difference between playing the direct 25.Qg3+ and playing Qg3 after exchanging the rooks so that he can have the intermediate tactical shot 30.hg6!! in just 58 secs!

Is this the result of Nakamura’s lightning speed calculations or a genius foresight! 

The below is the video analysis of this game uploaded on youtube. Do susbcribe to our youtube channel 🙂