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Clutch Chess Champions Showdown: The spotlight shone bright on two rivals, World Chess Champion D Gukesh and Hikaru Nakamura, in the rapid format at the Clutch Chess Champions Showdown 2025, after the American Grandmaster was criticised worldwide for his controversial act of throwing Gukesh's king into the crowd.

During the Checkmate: USA vs India exhibition event, Nakamura defeated Gukesh and in absolute exuberance, he threw Gukesh's king piece into the crowd, and celebrated in his face. This act quickly generated widespread criticism and caused immense social media uproar.

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However, in the Clutch Chess Champions Showdown 2025 in Saint Louis, Gukesh received a magnificent chance to settle the score and the World Chess Champion clutched the opportunity with both hands, delivering a power-packed performance in a deeply strategic battle to clinch a win in Round 2, Game 1.

Watch the video here:

Instead of taking revenge for Nakamura's previous act, Gukesh won the hearts with his kind gesture as he rearranged the chessboard immediately after the match, a respectful and sportsmanly act which speaks volumes about the young player's values.

Nakamura's Controversial King-Throwing Act

American Grandmaster's act of throwing a 19-year-old young Gukesh's king sparked widespread criticism.

Hikaru Nakamura later explained his gesture, defending it as "purely for entertainment purposes"

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“It was not an insult… If it were a serious event, like the Candidates, of course, you would never do such a thing. Nobody would! It doesn’t matter if it was Magnus Carlsen, Hans Niemann, Anish Giri, or me. But this was a purely entertainment event," Nakamura had said.

Earlier, Vladimir Kramnik, a former world champion, didn't dice his words while blaming Hikaru Nakamura of "vulgarity."

“This is not just vulgarity, but already a diagnosis of the degradation of modern chess,” Kramnik had posted on X.

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