National Open Blitz 2007 - Akobian vs Nakamura

Round 5, Board 1, National Open Blitz Championship 2007, GM Varuzhan Akobian vs GM Hikaru Nakamura

[@flpsnk4848]

Damn that clock recieved some beating. The emotions were felt. Not even shook hands at the end.

[@Thenextworldc]

How lives change.. I remember playing against Nakamura when we were younger in C.I.S and N.S.C.F i quit at 1900..he kept playing and now hes top 6 in the world...crazy..I hope he gets to #1..I didnt have a good support system..parents didnt really like the time i spent on chess..doesnt seem like naka has changed lol..when he was younger he use to disrespect people on the board, tossing pieces etc ..he got punched in the world open for that too...hes competitive though..chess needs him!

[@adelait4313]

is this true ahah ? if it is this is pur gold

[@SavantGardeEX]

LMAO NO WAY MY MAN BASED

[@bn3121]

Great story! I agree chess needs competitiveness, it makes the game more interesting, as long as it's not toxic. By the way, it's interesting how this comment was written back when Hikaru was ranked top 6. A few years later, he would reach #2 in the world, but never #1, thanks to a certain Norwegian player...

[@johnnygarcia7297]

Im the guy who puched him

[@shivamchouhan5077]

He is top 2 in the world now

[@TheFallenAngel1616]

are you kidding???...LOL

[@PapunaLomouri]

haha

[@-ELE-...]

Lets go come on

[@taksid]

.

[@80ron_]

​@@taksid 8 months ago. What a time

[@FANT0MGaming]

​@@80ron_ 9 day ago

[@58greenday]

1:40 the man in the next board was looking them like "wtf are they doing?"

[@hug0addicted197]

He just reacted this on stream, hello again

[@masteroogway1470]

Link pls

[@lowerfive6318]

@@masteroogway1470 you need to subscribe naka channel anyway to watch his past livestream

[@monkeyofwar6818]

hello brother

[@misteratoz]

Damn, if Nakamura said "are you kidding?" to me I would melt....

[@taksid]

Do you remember commenting on thins video 12 years ago?

[@misteratoz]

@@taksid nope

[@j_m_b_1914]

@@misteratoz Sometimes I'll revisit a video I saw years ago and think of a cool comment to make and then see someone else already made that comment -- me in the past.

[@fantiscious]

@@leoarcinas688 do you remember replying this 5 months ago?

[@bnishanth8101]

​@@fantiscious do you remember writing this comment yesterday

[@glaurung78]

Two points: - Akobian DID promote his passed pawn, so Nakamura should not have scorned him when he fetched the Queen. - But when he promoted the pawn, he did NOT put the Queen on d8. He left the pawn there and Nakamura captured it immediately. So he shouldn't have fetched the Queen.

[@copyninja8756]

Im from the future and I say Hikaru's scorn was totally necessary

[@sarkii3132]

@@copyninja8756 So necessary

[@derechte6086]

Position was sound to defend the „promoted queen“ u even mentioned it thus hikaru was right to scorn him or rather not right bc its a comment like an opinion so I wouldnt say right to say but there was an understandable reason for the opinion. He just spoke his mind

[@Pascal-md9os]

But there was no sense to that Promotion, he just tried to trick naka hoping he would miss it so he could Put the queen on the Board next move and win.. just a dirty attempt to trick him against the rules

[@Fidel55]

16 years ago wtf

[@michaelng6786]

lol when akobian take the queen hikaru said: " are you kidding? XD"

[@brandondaniels9471]

The icing on the cake is when he takes his own black queen and slams it down, even though he knows it will never enter the game either! :)

[@brandondaniels9471]

Brandon Daniels And, on top of that, it's funny when the players at the other table start staring at them (after the fact).

[@karlpearson9464]

Brandon Daniels yeah that was indeed funny

[@hubomba]

Akobian wasn't even obtrusive about it. But Naka is well known by the chess community as sort of a douche at times so no real surprise.

[@reflectionofpower8339]

hubomba I would say he's competitive. Nice guys finish last in competitive sports.

[@conard3]

I love at :57 Nakamura laughing and asking :"are you kidding?" and grabs a queen too.

[@taksid]

Do you remember commenting on thins video 12 years ago?

[@smoceany9478]

@@taksid no i dont

[@s5079282]

Why did he grab the queen?

[@conard3]

Akobian got his queen ready cause he was pushing a center pawn. Nakamura had a rook pawn HE was pushing too.

[@MoabTafH]

Yooo old comment lol

[@danialmohammadian5335]

omg!!! 15 years ago ....!!!! This clip is nostalgia...

[@alisalim193]

Akbian is a great player !! who is also very nice and polite !!!!!!

[@amirulhazmi-qn9ny]

Alsa Alim agreed

[@honeyinglune8957]

However nakamura is an even greater player. Maybe its not a coincidence that he is also less polite

[@vkvk3525]

Very low-energy

[@paxielle]

Lmao young nakamura had no chill I love it

[@31redorange08]

Funny: Akobian did indeed promote while Hikaru didn't.

[@TW-sh2un]

He technically did but the pawn (queen) was captured straight away without needing to place the queen there. So it wasn’t necessary for Akobian to have the queen at all

[@pulpogaraje]

Maybe akobian promoted to a knight. We will never know.

[@randomidiotontheinternet2772]

Maybe... As he said, we will never know

[@SavantGardeEX]

He didn't promote shit hikaru took it lmao

[@31redorange08]

@@SavantGardeEX Hikaru took what?

[@maschinenmeister]

00:58

[@JeffreyPhamigo]

thank you good man

[@byakuugan86]

There was a white pawn blocking the rook's path to the king; akobian checked with the pawn, then nakamura moved into the path of the rook (blocked by the pawn) but after naka moves, the pawn is hidden behind the black king, so it appears that the rook has a clear path

[@praneethb8037]

Thanks I though I was tripping

[@TizziQ]

I love everything about this video.

[@Aworld0fmagic]

That is brilliant :D

[@Frzncactus]

To those who think Naka was trying to trash talk his opponent: Y'all do realize that Akobian reached for the queen a dozen moves ahead of time, right? If you actually paid attention to the game, the "queen" would only be staying on the board for a single move.

[@Pascal-md9os]

Its just a common distraction/intimidation tactic

[@EvanFromJersey]

couldn't really understand the position as there's usually a graphic board on the screen showing the game. However, it was really cool seeing them move so fast

[@Furansowakun]

The best chess video ever.

[@cheesedie]

i just randomly started watching speed chess vids and im gobsmacked at how fast these guys do it! especialy near the end

[@taksid]

Do you remember commenting on thins video 14 years ago?

[@cheesedie]

@@taksid short answer: no 😆

[@deesse8892]

@@cheesedie there's a longer answer?

[@cheesedie]

@@deesse8892 answer: no

[@thedban1206]

@@taksid you finally got someone to reply 😭

[@gonymets]

man always love watching this!!!

[@yeetsky]

are you still alive, bro?

[@rajeevsoni1197]

16 years later 🎉

[@Elleption]

Prime Hikaru was a beast

[@thebeastadnc643]

13yo Magnus defeats prime Hikaru

[@riddhimaraj549]

​@@thebeastadnc643 please comment when you get back your senses

[@ryanjavierortega8513]

That was fantastic. Naka is tough.

[@pureredwhiteblu]

"Nakamura wins by TapOut (Kimora Submission) in the 1st Round" I know MMA fighters alot better then Chess Players...so this is a HUGE compliment to Nakamura. "Wandi is a legend" and Naka has a new fan!

[@eZoren11]

they're actually on reasonable terms as teammates on the national team

[@lewiszim]

@chessdrummer no, I mean once he promoted it he didn't replace it because by that point the rook was clearly going to just swipe it up. When he grabbed the queen it wasn't clear yet.

[@vkvk3525]

Is this the same Var Akobian that brings the low-energy commentary/analysis to Saint Louis Chess broadcasts ?

[@texaspete66]

hypnotic ! like some pressed fast forward on a video !

[@Pohaku66]

that and "...C'mon let's go.." is priceless!

[@btejedor]

yes, completely agree with you

[@osvarelar]

lets go, cmon cmon bring it xD!

[@darwincosadr]

love how angry nakamura was and then he was like "okay now i like this position" you are the best, or should i say the beast, in blitz

[@taksid]

Do you remember commenting on thins video 11 years ago?

[@KAKASHl69]

Probably one of the most goated minute of chess. Pure savages griping for opp pieces

[@AlterEgo2k8]

Chess with attitude...I like that. Perfect for a gatorade ad.

[@SaintD382]

Actually hchoudh, Nakamura clobbered Carlsen at the World Blitz Championship, 3-1. And he demolished the mighty Aronian in Chess 960, 3.5-0.5. He drew against Anand in 2010, and defeated Kramnik (with Black). He also came ahead of Anand at Wijk aan Zee 2011, taking sole first place.

[@hhhhbk2009]

@drowsy267 this is blitz so its clock move so it doesnt matter if u touch the piece

[@TEDOVSKY]

If the abiiter had heard the "are you kidding" and his opponent had called him over and complained, naka could well have been disqualified on the spot or at the very least have been given a final warning. There is some discretion to "talking" during a game, for example when a player blunders his queen away and curses himself or says "unbelievable" etc would never be sanctioned unless he obviously starts to clearly overstep the boundaries of that discretion.

[@1Deejay7]

LOL first time I've seen a aggressive game like this. Awesome. You can cut the tension w/ a knife.

[@TrueWodzu]

@Doublemac88 I remember that thing with Judit, but could you take a look at the movie on youtube, the blitz game between Carlsen and Kosteniuk, and what you think about his behaviour?:)

[@thaitan7221]

Yes time over. You can hear the little beep from the clock.

[@jmkba]

with 5 seconds to go you'll be happy to have it within your reach

[@ksi9654]

Ik this video will be alive forever in chess world. So after 10 years please reply to this comment so i can come back.

[@aminesosa8676]

Don't worry! I will be there to revive you!

[@kevlarunderwear22]

@TheMrLandon I love the confidence of Nak, in my opinion Akobian was trying to intimidate him and Nak simply let him know it wasnt going to happen today. awesome

[@billmy2251]

He didnt try to intimidate anyone. He queened the pawn later on so he needed a queen close to him its a common practice

[@uiae]

@@billmy2251 bro why are you replying after 10 years?

[@whannabi]

​@@uiae because they can

[@tihong10]

wow what a serious game! very tense

[@smpboss8812]

We all know old Hikaru really trash talk lol

[@riddhimaraj549]

That wasn't trash talk

[@kaiblade760]

@@riddhimaraj549 It was

[@luke19631963]

Yes its difficult to play your best chess if you have trouble concentratingm, in fact I would say its near impossible. Lots of people thought Fischer was either crazy or ecentric because he made so many complaints about stuff such as the lighting, cameras, ect. While he was indeed different I don't think his demands were all that much out of order. Full concentration is required to play at the top of your game so any distraction could be costly and Fischer knew this.

[@vikasbiliye5023]

Hey a 14 year old comment

[@luke19631963]

@@vikasbiliye5023 happy birthday 14 yo comment lol

[@IvoryArrow]

Sadly the game of chess just doesn't have an interface that can properly accommodate players as fast as these guys.

[@kylebierly1639]

iridiumfairy Um, playing online? Lol watching Naka play there is pretty crazy.

[@yolocomics5468]

Lol

[@Elfutbol59]

bro predicted the future

[@ChessNoir]

i never say lol, but LOL!!!! one of the reasons why nakamura's my favourite. badass indeed!

[@elmistikawee]

love akobian ♥

[@TotesMagotes]

Holy shit... that's some intense board movement. I'm guessing they go at it so quickly to confuse the other player ontop of managing time?

[@ostapbender7528]

You got to love Naka. :)

[@lewiszim]

@chessdrummer Maybe, I can't see the exact position that well due to the quality and angle.

[@madesh1000]

Who see in kidding 2023 😂

[@TheScatterBlaster]

Nakamura is the baddest Blitz player alive..When he puts his mind to it he has beaten Top progs at blitz..He just goes into a zone that few people have ever gone and its normally after someone makes him mad..When he starts worrying he losses or draws..Ive seen him in Luxemberg killing Top GMs and hes still very young

[@MonkeyDIvan]

Naka with his huge ego again

[@ronarprefect7709]

Another reason to hate speed chess--they don't even have time to set the pieces down in such a way they don't tip over and have to be righted.

[@carlix20]

they were not using heavy weighted chess pieces

[@tellahsage6477]

Some particular sets are simply not good for speed chess. I mean just look at this vid, i don't know who the fuck thought using such thin (easy to knock over) pieces for a blitz tournament would be a good idea, lol

[@SaintD382]

@moviecritic6 Not in 2009 he wasn't, which is the year I'm talking about.

[@AWASHA]

That was the greatest thing I've ever seen ... despite the atrocious hardware.

[@FemtoSecondSpectroscopy]

was this actually uploaded in 2007?

[@Thomasdada]

Totally owned him. Very impressive!

[@albertogarciaperalta9307]

Hahaha I love Naka.

[@sassyguysenpai]

To be very clear here, Akobian from the looks of it just grabbed the queen so that he wouldn't run out of time reaching for it earlier. The issue is that was his greatest blunder cause it only got Hikaru heated and subtracted 30 seconds from his clock.

[@Mantose262]

At 30 seconds when he uses two hands, one to move piece the other to hit the clock. I don't think that is legal in a rated game according to the chess rules.

[@VladInc]

though it happed really fast, his right hand was off the piece when he hit the clock. i think it was fine

[@Mantose262]

@@VladInc I have searched the internet. The only thing I saw where it is legal to use two hands is USCF rules on castling. I believe FIDE rules are only one hand only for castling. The rules also state players can only hit the clock with the hand they moved the piece with. Apparently, when capturing pieces they must be done with the same hand used to move and hit the clock. Unless that tournament has different rules or maybe because it is a blitz game it has special rules...

[@cpf6125]

@@Mantose262 Well spotted, he definitely does. And you are correct - those are the rules for all competitive chess AFAIK. I didn't know USCF even had that one exception. If anything they matter MORE in blitz than in classical otherwise the clock ends up getting slapped back and forth quicker than the moves are being made and it devolves into a complete mess. I see people break this rule in blitz games somewhat often - even top GMs - but it is categorically illegal. However if there's no arbiter watching to intervene it would take a very confident player to stop the game and call one over to protest so you can see how infractions like this slip through in the heat of the moment. The player who isn't cheating has to make a cost:benefit judgement whether or not it's worth making a fuss (and IIRC he can be punished if the arbiter rules against him).

[@yeeluvspizza]

Can we also recognize one of the greatest chess clocks in history... The Chronos?

[@apinkfluffunicorn-cy8lu]

PH MY FUCKING GOD IM LITERALLY SO IN LOVE WITH HIM HE CAN RUN ME OVER

[@shridharjadhav3465]

Bro you came again after a month Kidding?

[@apinkfluffunicorn-cy8lu]

@@shridharjadhav3465 yes

[@apinkfluffunicorn-cy8lu]

@@shridharjadhav3465 my monthly hikaru comment

[@apinkfluffunicorn-cy8lu]

@shridharjadhav3465 I'm back someone liked my comment and it reminded of how leng he was

[@Thomasdada]

great performance :) Can anybody see how much was remaining in HN's clock? Thx for sharing!

[@JanLukaKuka]

I don’t think so because everyone has the video in 240p just like you 🙃

[@niconico4010]

​@@JanLukaKukahahahhah

[@mrcelada]

When your opponent take a queen, you must to take a knight!

[@Notoriousjunior374]

Even the guy next table was curious to know what was going on.

[@davidg9036]

Wow Naka is my fav. Chess player and this is the 1st time I'm seeing this. Are you kidding?! Les go, c'mon c'mon bring it! Gotta love Naka.

[@sergantanimalmother5830]

Alternate title: Origins of hikaru nakamura

[@SaintD382]

@hchoudh1 I didn't "make it up," but I did get the event wrong: it was the BNbank blitz tournament in Oslo, not the World Blitz Championship (he didn't get invited to the WBC). Nakamura won all 12 of his games and then beat the reigning World Blitz Champion (Carlsen) 3-1. I've seen him defeat elite players on ICC, not just "amateurs". The man is a blitz legend, definitely one of the best blitz players in the world.

[@T4zchi]

As of right now, he is the second-best Classical Chess player, too!

[@jumbahigafan2]

Agree'd. But it was possibly loads amount of pressure. He was spending much time thinking when suddenly the guy just reaches over and picks the queen off without the move even being made. Reacted without thinking :P

[@QuakePhil]

@DavidForthoffer The board looks really flimsy. Its in the spirit of speed chess to keep the game going, so hassling around with the td would just aggravate both players

[@oaishymmoto]

cuz a lot of times in blitz when your running low on time, and you promote a pawn to become a queen it's a lot easier to make the exchange from Pawn-->Queen when it's right next to your hand rather than trying to take it from across the board and make the switch

[@coffeecasino]

Dat hand speed tho.

[@chessdrummer]

@TheMrLandon However, it's ironic when he promoted he didn't replace it with the queen.

[@MrIceSpikesss]

i got this recommended after years wth

[@tiapermana3397]

I like thia match

[@whyar3y0uga34]

Chess in the 2000s was hyper competitive Jesus, multiple world champions from FIDE and WCC. FIDE couldn't hold a champion for more than 2 years, it was only when Anand won that the chaos sorta died down

[@Pohaku66]

Yes Naka grabbing his queen right after Akobian grabbed his was the highlight of this clip... no doubt. I actually laughed out loud when I saw that.

[@tommydracule7558]

12 years

[@Yasshrai]

14 years

[@Yasshrai]

​@@tommydracule7558for you 2 year

[@sergeidave]

US champion, twice already. The guy is very talented, what can you expect?

[@taksid]

Do you remember commenting on thins video 13 years ago?

[@whannabi]

​@@taksid 14*

[@khaffit3527]

@@taksid He's dead.

[@Kaaaa965]

This comment aged well

[@sergeidave]

@@taksid Yes, I remember. 🙂

[@dondamaster94]

It wasn't a draw, Varuzhan ran out of time and was down two pawns. Nakamura isn't arrogant, he trust his instinct to make good moves and is disappointed if it is taken down, like what most people would feel. plus, Varuzhan was the cocky one first when he took the queen on Nakamura's side before it was promoted.

[@Helda8239]

16 YEAR AGO?!?!?!

[@mrnoobJI]

omg... i used to play chess a lot, but this is just ridiculously fast

[@dragonore2009]

As what Mr. Dream would say from Punch Out (NES) "I never seen such finger speed before."

[@BlooDyPower]

So fast dam... WOW WOW !!!

[@orbsandtea]

@drowsy267 Some french rule pronounced "Sha doob", it's simply adjusting pieces.. :P

[@dezayu123]

@TheStebbinz there's a pawn on d6

[@PlsPlayDota]

HAHAHAH OMG "are you kidding?"

[@introvertsenpai9968]

Dude was premoving before premoving was even a thing ☠️

[@calebvr3526]

I can’t even tell who won...

[@dert159]

White lost on time

[@calebvr3526]

@@dert159 thanks, I knew someone did but couldn’t tell when it started beeping lol

[@MissPielops]

no shit it's because he took back his queen, he did it because for some reason he was under the impression he could get a pawn to the other side to promote it so he was getting a queen ready to quickly place it down when he promoted, but Nakamura, knowing Akobian was no where near being able to promote took that as an insult thinking Akobian thought he was bad enough to let him promote... It's pretty obvious.

[@isaacharton7851]

Exactly, and yeah it is really obvious but bias prevents people from seeing the obvious, unfortunately.

[@Nyquiltips1]

Can somebody explain to me what that Queen grab thing was all about?

[@btejedor]

he touches it for placing it well, it fell in last move.

[@audihamzi2199]

I've never ever feel this bad for the clock..

[@BodeRN]

Cheguei pelo Mate-Papo do @Xadrez_brasil!! Kkkkkkk

[@QuakePhil]

@georg3000 The player on the left (Akobian) is getting ready to queen. Nakamura has seen one move further and knows Akobian will not need that queen after all, if he does, Nakamura can get a queen also.