Hikaru Takes Down Hans Niemann!!!!!
Table of contents
- Hikaru Nakamura and Hans Niemann's grudge match in Paris was intense, with Hikaru dominating early and Hans struggling to keep up.
- Hikaru's early lead was no match for Hans' relentless strategy and comeback.
- Hans Niemann's relentless attack leaves Hikaru Nakamura's defenses shattered, showcasing the power of patience and precision in chess.
- Hans Niemann's stunning comeback against Hikaru Nakamura proves that even the best can falter under pressure.
- Hikaru Nakamura's strategic brilliance shines through as he dominates Hans Neeman in a thrilling chess match, proving predictions wrong.
- Hikaru's relentless pressure and strategic brilliance wore Hans down, turning equal positions into crushing victories.
- Hikaru crushed Hans in speed chess, proving he's not at the level he claims.
- Hans Neeman's humility and determination after defeat show that chess needs more strong personalities to keep the sport engaging and evolving.
Hikaru Nakamura and Hans Niemann's grudge match in Paris was intense, with Hikaru dominating early and Hans struggling to keep up.
Ladies and gentlemen, I've got a great recap for you today. Today, Hikaru Nakamura played against Hans Neiman in Paris, France, for the Speed Chess Championship consolation match. It was a long day, so I'm going to share some perspectives.
First of all, I want to thank everybody who's watching at home, the live stream, the recaps, maybe both, and everybody that showed up here in Paris, France. I've met people from all over Europe and the States. It's really a special time to be having such a high-stakes event with so many spectators live in person. It's amazing to see chess figuring out a way to sell out an arena and make it possible. There have been some bumps and bruises, with several issues in production, but they're trying their best. I can tell you, I'm down there the entire day, eight to fourteen hours a day.
Hans Neiman versus Hikaru Nakamura is a fascinating matchup because Hikaru was one of the people that Hans sued. Hikaru was one of the earliest people to dissect Hans' games and talk about the fact that his play is all over the place and his interviews are erratic. I would like to think that Hikaru looks back at that time and goes, maybe I shouldn't have done that. On the flip side, over the last six to twelve months, this rivalry has really been between Hans and Hikaru. If you go back to their YouTube channels, Hans is calling Hikaru a coward, and Hikaru is constantly talking about Hans. This was a crazy grudge match because most third-place matches are just a hangover from the other matches that you couldn't win—not this one.
After I tell you about this match, I'm going to tell you about the interviews, show some clips, and give you my final perspective on everything that transpired. Hopefully, it's a refreshing perspective. I would like to think that I am a relatively eloquent young man.
So, we begin the five plus one. The first game, Hikaru opens with Knight to F3, D5, and he plays G3, setting up a fianchetto with Bishop G2 and C4. This is an opening that I played myself in a recent game against Liam Putam on this channel. Liam took on C4 early and then played the bishop here, played A6, put the Knight on D7, etc. We got castles, B3, and this is actually also part of my opening repertoire. We have B6, and in general, the rule of B6 is that white likes to take on D5 at a certain point for various positional reasons, which are a little bit too complicated to get into right now.
Hikaru played E3, Queen E2—all of this has been seen before—and Hans played Knight E4. He tried to provoke a fight with Hikaru. Knight takes, Bishop takes, and now putting the next Knight on E4. There is something to be said that opening up one Bishop here would have been good, followed by Bishop F6, which is going for a trade of this bishop. So, you open your Bishop first and then you trade Hikaru's Bishop. Instead of that, Hans played Knight F6 and Knight E4, and this is actually a nice position for white. White has a strong center and good pressure on both diagonals.
When the center began opening up, it was Hikaru who jumped out to an early advantage because he's going to have the bishop slicing and dicing from both sides of the board. Hans played Queen B7, and in 17 moves, Hans obtained a losing position. We have to remember that Magnus Carlsen jumped out to a 2-0 lead against Hans, and that was it. Hans talked a lot before this, and suddenly he's just losing six minutes into the match.
There's a really nice combination here, which begins with Bishop takes, getting the rook into D7, and the next move, which is Pawn to B4, separates these bishops. Then you come back with a fork. You can play Bishop E4, Rook D7, but Queen B8 stops B4 because there is Bishop D6, which is very tricky. Hikaru does it the other way, first playing B4, forcing the bishop to come here. If you play Bishop D6, I take on E4 and then on D6. If you play Bishop E7, I take on E4 and then fork the queen and the bishop. The dust settles, Rook D7 is on the board, Rook D4 is a fork, and Hans Neiman resigns. You sit back and go, dude.
Hikaru's early lead was no match for Hans' relentless strategy and comeback.
Suddenly, he's just losing. Six minutes into the match, there's a really nice combination here. It begins with Bishop takes, getting the rook into D7. The next move is Pawn to B4, which separates these bishops. Then, you come back with a fork. You can play Bishop E4, Rook D7, but Queen B8 stops B4 because there is Bishop D6, which is very tricky. Hikaru does it the other way; first, he plays B4, forcing the bishop to come here. You may ask why it is forced. If you play Bishop D6, I take on E4, and then I take on D6. If you play Bishop E7, then I take on E4 and fork the queen and the bishop. The dust settles, Rook D7 is on the board, Rook D4 is a fork, and Hans Niemann resigns. You sit back and think, "Dude, for real, this is what's about to happen?" We just saw this, right? We saw a lot of talk, but in this high-stakes environment with a live audience, this is what we're going to get. Talk is cheap, but Hikaru got out to an early lead. Hans was not to be denied; he was playing a lot of E4, Hikaru was responding E5, and Hikaru went back to the same variation he was playing against Alireza Firouzja. He lost a couple of games to him, but that doesn't mean the opening is bad; it just means Alireza was in fantastic form.
We had castles, Knight to G6, all of this has been played before, Bishop G5, castles, and a big center for Hans. Hikaru traded everything and played this move D5, which is what he's played. This is, in general, the idea of the Spanish. Hans took on D5, the knight went back to E7, Hans then gave up the pawn on D6 and played Knight to E4, and the bishop went back to C2. Up to this point, everything was actually preparation. He didn't spend a lot of time, and all of this has been seen before, and white has an advantage. Bishop C2—he might have faked that this was a thought, meaning he spent a little bit of time, 12 seconds. Hikaru played Bishop F5, meeting the bishop exactly there, and he actually managed to equalize. We have Queen D5, and Hikaru was on his way to taking over the game. I don't know if this was still preparation or maybe something was mixed up, but it simply looked like it was going to be cruise control for Hans Niemann.
Rook C1, Hikaru played C6, a natural move to safeguard the center of the board, but it didn't help. It was actually better to play something like Rook E8 and Knight G6. Now we have Bishop F4, now Knight G6, and Hans, around this point, started to untangle a little bit and began launching an attack. He played Rook D1, and Hikaru took two pawns from him. Again, instant replay: Hikaru took D4 and B2, and Hans is just two pawns down. What Hans does have going for him is the bishops pointed towards Hikaru's king. He plays Bishop to D6, and here Hikaru had to remember his training as a subscriber of the Gotham Chess YouTube channel. He had to remember danger levels. You don't play Knight takes H4, which attacks the queen, but you play Knight to E5, which attacks the queen. The point is that if you play Rook F7, I can move my bishop, for example, Bishop C6, and you always have a back-rank mate coming, or you have bishop takes. However, if you play Knight to E5 first and let's say I just slide my queen out of the way, now Rook F7—there is nothing because you completely closed this file. After Bishop takes E5, you can't take with the rook, then you will get mated. But let's not forget, you have a queen and also the F pawn. Knight to E5 here would have been a big move by Hikaru, but he blunders because that's life. He sacrifices his rook to try to create counterplay, but a beautiful move, also danger levels by the way, equaling a threat with a threat of equal value, responding to a threat with equal value. Now Hans plays Rook takes E4. The queen protects both rooks, and that rook can be captured, but the other white rook will go all the way down the board. Hikaru created some counterplay. It's very confusing when the players have identical initials, HN. Everything clears out, and Hans Niemann strikes back. You were like, "Oh."
Now, Hikaru kept pushing. What happened next was absolutely mind-blowing. The score was 5-2. Magnus Carlsen took a 7-2 lead against Hans, and he never looked back. I think they tied the three-plus-one. The bullet was all over the place. Hans ended up losing that match by five games, and he lost the five-plus-one by five games.
Hans Niemann's relentless attack leaves Hikaru Nakamura's defenses shattered, showcasing the power of patience and precision in chess.
Hans played Rook takes E4, and the queen protected both rooks. Although that rook could be captured, the other white rook would advance all the way down the board. Hikaru created some counterplay, which was confusing due to the players having identical initials, HN. However, Hans struck back, and Hikaru kept pushing. The score was 5-2, and Magnus Carlsen took a 7-2 lead against Hans, never looking back. They tied in the three-plus-one segment, and the bullet games were chaotic. Hans ended up losing the match by five games, and he also lost the five-plus-one segment by five games, never recovering.
You mentioned that it was 5-2, and Hikaru was expected to take a similar lead against Hans as Magnus did. This time, we saw the same Knight E7, Knight G6 setup, but instead of placing the bishop on G5, Hans put it on E3. The game continued with castles, Knight D2, D6, Rook E1, King h8, H3, F6. This setup is what Hikaru frequently goes for, creating a dark-squared pawn wall in the center of the board and forming a pyramid. The light-squared bishop would come to E6 and then move to G8.
As the game progressed, Hans made slow, improving moves, playing patiently. When everything was ready, he launched a samide attack on Hikaru, exploiting the slightly lacking coordination of the black pieces. Hikaru needed to take on D4 and then play D5, which he did in a previous game, resulting in a fine position. However, in this game, he chose a sixth-rank wall setup. White made several improving moves, played H5, and could have played H6. The knight moved to H4, and Hikaru tried to strike back in the center sensing an attack on the kingside. Hans played H6, G5, and sacrificed the bishop.
Hikaru could have played a more normal move but sensed the pawn was a significant problem and decided to fight back. However, this sometimes backfires, and although Hikaru was up a bishop for two pawns, he was being mated. The sequence continued with Knight G6, Queen F6 check, King to G8, and Hans playing e takes D5. Hans then played Knight takes G6 immediately, and Hikaru was close to fighting back. If Hikaru won this game, he would go up 6-2, indicating the early makings of a match getting away.
Hikaru played Knight to E6, which was not the best move. He should have tried to trade the rook, the attacking piece. Hans then sacrificed the rook on E6, displaying danger levels and looking like a good Gotham pupil. Hans mentioned in an interview that he would teach me, and it seems the teachings have been effective. Hans won this game in violent fashion, tearing apart the king's defenses. The queen was hanging, so it moved back, and the rook advanced, creating a beautiful position. Rook E7 and Rook H7 signaled game over, with threats of Queen f6 and Queen G7.
Hikaru had to find Rook D6, but instead played Bishop B8. Hans won in style, sacrificing the queen with a final brilliant move, making the score 5-3. Despite Hikaru leading by three, Hans demonstrated his resilience and skill in this match.
Hans Niemann's stunning comeback against Hikaru Nakamura proves that even the best can falter under pressure.
The House of the King is completely torn apart. The Knight comes to f5, creating a beautiful configuration. The Queen is hanging, so it goes back, and here comes the Rook. It's a beautiful position: Rook E7, Rook H7, and it's simply game over. There are all sorts of Queen f6s, the Bishop is going to move, and Queen G7 is on the way. Rook D7 Knight E7 is actually not the best move here. Hikaru had to find Rook D6, although I'm not really sure that move makes sense. He played Bishop B8, and now Hans wins in style by taking the Bishop. Everything is holding here except for the fact that you can sacrifice the Queen. The final brilliant move and Hans Niemann wins, making the score 5 to 3.
You would think, okay, Hikaru is led by three points. Now he gets a game with white, the final game of the portion. He plays a double fianchetto setup, which is Hikaru's bread and butter. He loves these setups and loves to move his D and C pawns. There they go: D3, C4. Now, Hikaru is going to have to break in the center or maneuver some pieces, so he plays Knight C3, Queen E2, and Rook D1. This is to get out of the way of the Bishop to put it on H1. We have Rook E8.
Interestingly, the computer evaluates some of these lines differently. It wanted to fight back faster and didn't like that Hans took control of the diagonal. Hans made some slow improving moves, and suddenly the sides were clashing, but it was Hikaru who was taking over. With the score at 5 to 3, he had that pressure on the queen side. Hikaru loves these positions; he is so good at these positional grinds and slow games. We have Knight C6, Knight to B6, Queen goes back to D8, and Hikaru just cleanly picks up the pawn on D5. Hans gets the pawn here, and now Bishop to A3. Instead of Bishop to A3, a move like Rook A4 would have been nice.
Hans Niemann started taking over. Hikaru kind of got stuck with his hand in the cookie jar. He extended the D pawn to play Bishop to B7, and Hans played a retreating move that protected the pawn. You almost wish you could take your own pawn back, but you can't. When everything was falling apart, the Knight was kicked out, the pawn was falling, and Hans was winning.
However, this wasn't the end of the story. Hikaru is one of the best defensive players in the world. Look at Hans Niemann pushing his queenside pawns. Hikaru simply couldn't stop them. There's nothing you can do here with white; you have to go for the enemy King to create any meaningful counterplay. How are you going to go for the King to create this counterplay if you're going to end up trading the Queens? Suddenly, there's counterplay on the way: Queen E7, Rooks. This is the only way. Hikaru had to abandon the queenside and go for the King.
The trade actually benefits white because you're going to pick up the pawn. So, Rook B1, and now it's a draw. Hikaru threatened the attack on the King, then switched the plan and took the draw. It's a draw because you have an equal amount of pawns. You could trade the Rooks, you could trade the Bishops, but you can't trade both unless you're really certain about your exchanges. This was heading for a draw, but suddenly Hikaru didn't play correctly, lost his D pawn, and ended up losing the pawn on F2. He was losing. Bishop G1, Rook H2 is just mate.
From 5 to 2, Hans Niemann wins back-to-back games in the five-plus-one segment, making it 5 to 4. The pre-match prediction, according to the Smarter Chess algorithm used by Chess.com, predicted that Hikaru had a 62% chance of winning this match. This seems surprising. If you made ten speeches Championship matches between these two, you're telling me Hans wins four out of ten? A 7 to 3 prediction would have been more reasonable. I think it's closer to 82% for Hikaru, probably like 24% to 76%. This is closer to one out of four. Maybe they took into account Hikaru's performance.
Hikaru Nakamura's strategic brilliance shines through as he dominates Hans Neeman in a thrilling chess match, proving predictions wrong.
In the back-to-back games of the five plus one segment, the score stands at 5 to 4. According to the pre-match prediction by Smarter Chess, an algorithm used by Chess.com for web broadcasts, Hikaru had a 62% chance of winning the match. This prediction seemed surprising to some, as it suggested Hikaru would win 6 out of 10 matches against Hans Neeman. A more reasonable estimate might be closer to 76% in favor of Hikaru, implying a 24% chance for Hans. Despite the skepticism, the prediction appears to be accurate as the match progresses into the 3+1 segment.
In the 3+1 games, Hikaru and Hans began with familiar setups. Hikaru's Knight F3 and Knight F6 led to a slow, positional game. A critical moment occurred when Hikaru spotted a deceptive move, Rook E1, which threatened Knight E5 regardless of the bishop's position. Hans blundered on the 13th move with Bishop G2 and Knight D7, allowing Hikaru to trade pieces and eventually play the decisive move, E4. Hikaru's strategic play, including the use of double fianchetto setups, led to a dominant position.
Hans attempted to counter but Hikaru methodically improved his position, waiting for the right moment to break through. With Hans down to just 2 seconds, Hikaru executed a series of precise moves, including Rook H5, King F4, and E5, to secure a smooth positional win. Hikaru's control over the game was evident as he methodically brought his pieces forward, eventually breaking through Hans' defenses.
In the subsequent games, Hikaru, with a match lead, opted for more solid openings. Against Hans' Spanish opening, Hikaru chose the Berlin Defense, aiming to neutralize the game rather than play provocatively. This strategy paid off as Hikaru continued to find success with the white pieces. Hans, on the other hand, created some attacking chances but ultimately could not sustain the pressure, leading to a series of methodical wins for Hikaru.
Hikaru's relentless pressure and strategic brilliance wore Hans down, turning equal positions into crushing victories.
Hikaru got off to a very nice start in the three plus one with a very smooth positional win. In one of the subsequent games, Hans returned to his Spanish opening, and Hikaru responded with the Berlin Defense. At this point, with a match lead, Hikaru decided not to play provocatively with Black. Instead, he aimed to kill the game, given his clear success with the White pieces. Hans played an anti-Berlin, and Hikaru adopted a rare system in the Spanish, placing his bishop on B7 in a closed Spanish setup. Hans created some nice attacking chances but then retreated his pieces and tried to create play on the other side of the board.
Time management was a significant factor, with Hans having 2:16 on the clock compared to Hikaru's 52 seconds. This indicated that Hans, despite feeling successful in the five plus one, was playing a bit slowly. His decision-making was slower, and although he had a nice position, Hikaru kept it cool, inviting Hans to attack on both the queen side and the king side. As the game progressed to its 30th and 40th moves, where energy is crucial, it was Hikaru who started pulling away. Hans did get a lead, but F4 was not the right plan; he needed to play F3 and proceed more slowly. Hikaru, with his counterplay and defensive prowess, punished Hans for his mistakes.
This game was particularly demoralizing for Hans. Despite being in an equal endgame and even up a pawn at one point, Hikaru's relentless pressure turned the tables. Hans tried to play for a win, but Hikaru, even when down a knight, managed to create winning chances. Hikaru's ability to make it impossible for Hans to defend in low time was evident. He didn't allow Hans to trade pawns easily, holding them hostage and continuously bothering him. Eventually, Hikaru won a pawn, turning it into a two-on-one advantage, and Hans, 90 moves into the game, blundered, thinking it was a drawn king and pawn endgame. This is what Hikaru does; he wears down his opponents like a relentless wrestler.
In the three-minute portion, Hikaru was a monster, winning games in absurd fashion. He played slowly, improving his position and trading in the center. Hans tried every setup in the book, but Hikaru's methodical play prevailed. Hans, desperate at some point, tried to create counterplay but couldn't patiently sit back. Hikaru beat him in 90-move games, and every time Hans tried something faster, he was immediately punished. For instance, in one game, Hans played Bishop C3, attacking Hikaru's knight on B4. Hikaru ignored it and played Queen C7, setting up an attack on a bishop and a discovered attack on H2 with Knight to F3 check and Queen H2 mate. Hikaru's confidence was evident as he sat back and looked at Hans, showcasing his dominance.
Hikaru crushed Hans in speed chess, proving he's not at the level he claims.
Hans Niemann was playing his Italian, a position he is very good at. According to Magnus Carlsen, Hans understands these positions really well. Hans was fighting and getting some interesting and good positions. At one point, Hans played Bishop C3, attacking Hikaru's Knight on B4. Hikaru ignored it and played Queen C7, setting up an attack on a bishop and a discovered attack on H2 with Knight to F3 check and Queen H2 mate. Hikaru literally sat back and stared at Hans, as captured in a photo by Maria Milanova, whose username is photochess. Hikaru won the five-plus-one segment of the match 5 to 4, the three-plus-one segment 7.5 to 1.5, and the bullet segment with a similar score, ultimately winning the match 21-9.
Yesterday, Magnus led by 10, but Hans won the last five games, making it 17.5 to 12.5. However, it wasn't close, as a 10-game lead is significant. In the pregame show, it was mentioned that if Hikaru gets a lead, he won't let up, and he didn't, winning 21-9. Hans Niemann is now 0 for 2 in the Speed Chess Championship finale, facing arguably the two best speed players in the world, with Ali Reza Firouzja also being a top contender.
The fallout from this was fascinating. Hikaru showed up for the interview and, paraphrasing, said Hans is not at the level he claims to be. Despite being world number 16, Hikaru stated Hans is not in the world top 20, particularly in speed chess. Hikaru mentioned that his recent tournament opponents played better against certain setups than Hans did. He was quite direct in his criticism, which seemed cold and a bit of a roast.
In the interview, Hikaru got sentimental, expressing how special it is for him to play in front of a live audience. He never thought he would have the opportunity to play so many games against young players like Hans and Firouzja. It is very special to him to allow the next generation to spar with him, as in what other walk of life do you get to play hundreds of games against elite athletes?
Hans, on the other hand, tweeted after his matches, "There is no excuse for defeat. I will be back stronger. Thanks to all my fans. I promise you all I'm determined to do whatever it takes to become the best player in the world." Today, he congratulated Hikaru, expressing gratitude for the opportunity to compete against the best players in the world and vowing to prepare for the next Speed Chess Championship. Hans's tweets seemed out of character, adding a humorous element to the situation. He also had an interview with Nitzki, which was not quoted here.
Hans Neeman's humility and determination after defeat show that chess needs more strong personalities to keep the sport engaging and evolving.
There was Hans, you know, and I'm going to show you Hans's tweets after his matches yesterday. He said, "There is no excuse for defeat. I will be back stronger. Thanks to all my fans. I promise you all I'm determined to do whatever it takes to become the best player in the world." Then today, he said, "Congrats to Hikaru. All I ever wanted is the chance to compete against the best players in the world, and I'm grateful for the opportunity. A lot to learn. I'll be preparing the entire year for the next sec."
I have to tell you, Hans and emotions don't make any sense together in my brain. It's just very funny. He also had an interview with Nitzki, which I am not going to quote here, but I will paraphrase. He was humble and said a few things that made me think. He called himself an innocent bystander over the last few years. I don't exactly agree with that part, but of all the interviews that Hans Neeman has given and all the things he has said and tweeted over the last few years, it was the best one.
I gave my three-minute perspective when we closed the show, and I will give my perspective here because it's my YouTube channel, and there's no time limit. If you want to be a professional, an elite athlete who is, I don't want to say loved and respected by the fans, but at least generates some emotion in the fans, it doesn't matter if it's hate or love as long as they care to watch. For instance, 99% of you watching this right now did not watch chess content and maybe didn't even play chess before 2020. That is the truth. Chess has exploded over the last few years, and guys like Hans Neeman matter in the chess world. Personalities like that do matter.
As long as he's going to talk his talk, he either backs it up or is humble in defeat, like Conor McGregor when he was rising up the UFC ranks. Not the post-Conor McGregor, that's a whole other story. But that was a magical time when he was beating Aldo and Mendes. If this reference doesn't mean anything to you, I apologize. His detractors are going to forever dislike him. They don't believe this interview. They say things like, if he had won against Hikaru, would he have shown up and just trashed Hikaru? Listen, Hikaru showed up and said what he said about Hans. There's no love lost there. Maybe he will be more positive in the future, but he said what he said. If Hans had shown up and beaten Hikaru, he probably would have said what he said. I'm not going to lie; we would be having a very different conversation, but that's not reality.
I think he handled it well. We will see how he handles future things, whether he wins or loses. Chess needs more personalities and slightly better media-trained Grand Masters. Hikaru and Magnus may be retired in 5 years, and it's not really clear who the next superstars will be. If we're going to have major live events where people care to watch, people in the chess world care about playing together in community settings. They care about content creators. Look at you guys; you watch this. This is the biggest YouTube channel. I'm like number 2500 in the world. It's a special thing in chess where content creators like myself have an opportunity to platform the game to so many of you, and we need the top players to do the same.
At the end of these things, I sometimes read the comments like, "You always make it about yourself. Shut your goddamn mouth, you absolute clowns. Go outside, get air, breathe." You know what I'm saying? It's cool. The other criticism is, "Well, Hans cheated, so I'm never going to believe him." Okay, you don't have to. You're going to watch when he plays, and that is sports and entertainment. He said he never cheated over the board. Chess.com confirmed that statisticians confirmed that. That's it. He did what he did when he was younger. All of us do really stupid stuff. You watching this right now have probably done even stupider stuff. If you get better from it and behave better, life goes on.
Hikaru is the bronze medalist of the 2024 Speed Championship. Tomorrow, Magnus Carlsen plays Fuja. See you then. Get out of here.