Hikaru Nakamura - When The Mask Slips

[@TheEpicRooster]

Hey thefranChise, I was wondering uhm... if you'd like to play video games? Since you know.. you're like done with this video and whatnot. Just let me know. Thanks!

[@ZDTF]

You sounded like an anime girl No offense A shy nerdy anime girl

[@StrangeAquaticCow]

​@@ZDTF How do you know what that sounds like 🤔🧐

[@ZDTF]

@StrangeAquaticCow we are all One being What you do I do What you see I see

[@StrangeAquaticCow]

@@ZDTF throwing around accusations. Guess you watched the master do it so not shocked.

[@ZDTF]

@@StrangeAquaticCow Hey Um Fun fact Did you know Nba star 13 year 3000 It was funny Hehe Also You had such a downgrade bruh Is the guy in the 3rd short the same as your latest short? If so, Rip bro's coolness Is it a medical thingy? Damn That's sad But hey You still look really cool! Lookin Big,brudha. Oh and Why do you talk like that Like Hey Um Hey Um Get it? Just Relax You'll rizz up all the shawties if you fix the way you talk Idk You were saying random things so I decided to say random things too Oh Is it bad that I took a look at your shorts Sorry Oh and cool dog Dogs are funny I still think horses are man's best friend though

[@MechMK1]

"His dad came to apologize on his behalf" explains literally everything about him as a person

[@thebirdhasbeencharged]

Spoilt kid who never really grew up

[@hazelnutfaber5175]

Ben Finegold always said, hikaru doesn't like the people that compete with him. He's not just competitive, he's petty. Another example for the pile of mask slips. remember when hikaru said, paraphrasing, he was done with OTB chess and only cared about his streamer career, then levy won the first chess streamer award. Hikaru out of nowhere said in stream that levy will never accomplish anything at chess. Stellar sportsmanship from the forever number 2

[@vegpedro7632]

Not even a real number 2

[@Don-Scrima]

@@vegpedro7632 *4

[@matthewglenguir7204]

His real fans should know this is true

[@tobyonatabe2601]

It's hilarious that they now work together on take take take

[@N8Dulcimer]

Hikaru makes more money off personality than chess.. *player does well* *Hikaru creates drama* *Hikaru get's extra viewers* is it that hard to understand?

[@regzzuse280]

"Why a seven year old girl hates Hikaru, well the answer is simple, she met him." -Ben Finegold

[@mutdd3954]

[@vincentvangogh8092]

finegold said Hikaru had a kid beat up when he was a junior because he lost

[@ExplodingSkull-n5y]

Thas fckin hillarious

[@jabinkooistra-bond]

Ben is honestly the funniest GM on youtube

[@thekraken4265]

ben finegold diddles 7 year old girls

[@existingexpert]

Save this video before the copyright strikes come

[@scheimong]

The shot of Yasser calmly telling a story to Fabiano over a pint with Eric choking out Hikaru in the background has to be the funniest picture in all of chess.

[@babstra55]

it also tells how used yasser and fabi were to hikaru pulling stuff like that. they're not even paying attention anymore.

[@MrMarlowe3488]

it's a crime more chess fans are unaware of that story

[@pakchess69]

​@@MrMarlowe3488 it's out there for anyone to see😂😂. Yasser has hikarus ring in his hand. Its pretty hysterical

[@MrMarlowe3488]

@@pakchess69 yeah i know i remember watching it back in like 2018 and I witnessed the "i literally don't care" controversy in real time. it's just one of the funniest things ever and bc chess just gets new fans all the time a lot of ppl come in not knowing like who these people actually are.

[@eidolon562]

Why tf is there drama in chess. Just put the pieces on the board man

[@custardgannet4836]

Anywhere there is competition there will be drama. So in every facet of life it exists*tips fedora* do the kids still do that?

[@HarryWizard]

@@custardgannet4836 google en passant

[@SleekGoose]

@@custardgannet4836you just won the internet today sir 😂😂⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️

[@ZDTF]

​@@custardgannet4836play chess with me *tips fedora* I'm Mr. Cool man Idk I just tried to copy you You sounded old and cool I want to play against old people

[@jeremytan739]

Gotta ask Hikaru's ego

[@Hinge_KumaK]

Glad I could see this before it gets a copy right strike from Hikaru

[@thekycklingwizard78]

Wanna bet it will never happen?

[@Hinge_KumaK]

@@thekycklingwizard78 Its a joke comment son calm down

[@ecab992]

@@Hinge_KumaK lol ur mad

[@Hinge_KumaK]

@@ecab992 And you have a learning disability guess we all got our faults don't we sunshine🤣

[@niallvaz737]

@@ecab992 huh?

[@samthebagman4643]

I can't believe Chessbae was Leffen all along

[@ZDTF]

I have a theory Hikaru is chessbae

[@Euthanasia-rc1pm]

Who's Leffen?

[@speshul2289]

​@@Euthanasia-rc1pm leffen is a former Smash bros pro who is known for being very toxic and evotistical

[@Valverde-rh1wm]

@@samthebagman4643 who tf is leffen ?

[@ZeroG]

Chessbay is where to sell the used pieces right

[@swop6750]

waiting for this video to get taken down by hikaru rn

[@Bennnnnnn09]

i bet hikaru's gonna react on this

[@Pekara121]

Hikaru really showing that he grew up on online multiplayer games

[@2nerC9]

Fr. Ahhh the good old days back when everyone and their moms who played videogames was toxic asf and no one would bat an eye about it.

[@Crailik]

@@2nerC9 good times

[@TBNRnoob14]

Honestly he just grew up playing chess. As someone who has played OTB chess since I was quite young, I can confidently say that the place where I have seen the most arrogance is chess tournaments with kids who all think they are the best thing ever. Just so happened that Hikaru kept getting better and kept the idea that he was the best thing ever.

[@N8Dulcimer]

John Bartholomew is such a total class act who is constantly polite and respectful that the minute he said "in an antagonistic, arrogant Hikaru Nakamura kind of way" I instantly had to reconsider the whole situation, because John would not say something like that unless Hikaru was extremely rude.

[@Pedro-op6zj]

crying much?

[@sigurdh.s8320]

@@Pedro-op6zjYes, you are

[@andrewunthank3521]

Facts

[@pakchess69]

John Bartholomew has the best chess content on KZbin when you just wannna sit back and chill. Its so unreal how good he is at creating that comfortable atmosphere with his content. Him and Eric Rosen>>>( though Eric is a little more haphazard ig)

[@AHumanLivingOnEarth]

@@sigurdh.s8320 No, you are.

[@MisterAccord]

"You can think of Hikaru as the Leffen of the chess community." I instantly get it. Ambiguity is defeated. Clarity reigns supreme.

[@huckmart2017]

Evidence.zip

[@ZeroG]

who tf is lefgin

[@Team_Orchid]

@@ZeroG For a full explanation watch Technicals videos on him, but the short version is that he's a player of Super Smash Brothers Melee that gets away with a ton of bad behavior due to his skill and his influence over a lot of the people organizing the scene.

[@slowfreq]

That also helps me understand who Leffen is as a chess and non-other games person.

[@kydelvetus642]

This is backwards for me. I know who Hikaru is but have never heard of Leffen

[@vibrantoucan8890]

I really enjoyed the video, but I feel like you sould have started with stronger points. Most Hikaru fans are going to watch the first like 5 to 10 minutes, see that your point in that section is basically just "He is a pretty rude" and not see the points of him being a genuinely bad person from the rest of the video.

[@searsino]

Agreed. Things like hours of KZbin’s videos with millions of views slandering a teenage Hans, ultimately being responsible for much of the misery he had to endure.

[@KaitlynBurnellMath]

Yeah, that was my thought in the first 5-10 minutes. "He's the Leffen of Chess" just doesn't carry much weight for me. Leffen, while he's a bit of a weirdo sometimes, as far as I know has never issued a copyright strike, and the closest thing I've seen recently to a "cheating scandal" in melee recently (people mad about Cody's controller) Leffen was one of the few people standing up for Cody.

[@MichaelXiong-jx7ke]

#1: Hans cheated #2: Krammnik accuses innocent people on purpose and you guys would rather get mad at Hikaru #3: Alireza was clearly not tired

[@vibrantoucan8890]

@MichaelXiong-jx7ke 1: How? 2: Hikaru does the exact same. 3: Why does it matter? The organisers thought the was and therefore gave him a 20 minute break. If I play in any tournament and the organisers tell me my match starts 20 minutes later than I don't debate "actually it needs to start at the time", unless I have a tight schedule. I just arrive 20 minutes later and assume they also informed my opponent.

[@outcast12345]

@@KaitlynBurnellMath lol you should research more bout leffen

[@BilllFisher]

One of my favorite fails from Nakamura ever, is when he’s berating Eric Rosen for correctly pronouncing Agadmator name. The stupid look on his face is absolutely gold when he realizes he’s wrong. Then he just brushes it off. Eric Rosen is a world class gentleman. Nakamura is a straight up clown.

[@thefranChise1]

Guys I literally don't care

[@cubekng]

❤

[@Stormzy2heaven]

WELL YOU SHOULD, YOU BIG GREEN BASTARD!!!!

[@TheEpicRooster]

Wow, unreal.

[@DoujinKayouNarutoCards]

I bet not, but I appreciate the tabloid in video form. Very juicy, very engaging. I hate watching hikaru playing chess when it's him, because he bitches and cries and says excuses. His commentary is much better than yours, even if he spoke on other topics. So relax. I'm sure you have infact better things to do than read these if really in Cornell, but bro hikaru needs your samurai ass eye brows tho 😊

[@CalderTF2]

The victims of TheFranChise

[@danielmaske9946]

"Scrubbing the internet every time he crashes out" is such a fire line.

[@Pascal-md9os]

Edit to the match with firouzja where alireza got a break: Hikaru WAS asked before if he is ok with alireza getting a break and AGREED. Later he started crying about it.

[@ermes6358]

Yeah, this should've been mentioned.

[@nanashiv2]

he only agreed because alireza threatened to withdraw

[@ziggle5000]

​@@ermes6358it was.

[@dantralius9269]

I think Hikaru did apologise to Alireza afterwards.

[@ermes6358]

@@dantralius9269 The man is almost 40 and he acts like a baby, apologising is not enough.

[@_CertifiedHoodClassic]

Kramnik hides behind “It’s very interesting” Hikaru hides behind “I’m not a data scientist or anything” 😂😂😂😂😂

[@cameronmoore136]

Dude who just witnessed a murder: holy shit he just killed that man! @_CertifiedHoodClassic: Umm wouldn't you need to be a detective to determine that? Why are you commenting?

[@_CertifiedHoodClassic]

@@cameronmoore136 I think this was a poor attempt at sarcasm.

[@cameronmoore136]

@@_CertifiedHoodClassic Wouldn't you need to be an English teacher to determine that?

[@AHumanLivingOnEarth]

@@_CertifiedHoodClassic I think you just fell for a troll, my guy.

[@therealsheldonjplankton]

The Leffen of the chess community. That's all you had to say.

[@WhiteCollarCrimeDNB]

It's not remotely true.

[@Fantomstranger]

@@WhiteCollarCrimeDNBwhy

[@12mulesandy]

Truly embodying the Reginald side of TSM

[@rolandorban6248]

Just as a question... who is leffen? A football player or something?

[@Fantomstranger]

@rolandorban6248 eSports player who plays smash bros or something

[@blubbfisch98]

I've been in the chess KZbin-bubble before Hikaru started streaming and I'm still amazed he got such a huge following. The guy was unbearable in the beginning.

[@CarloRossiTheGreat]

Chessnetwork gang

[@Gr4ndyAndy]

Still is imo.. he is so full of himself it shows in every stream or video he does... homie is talking like donald trump i just cant 😂 such a tool and his dad is probably responsible for that

[@cattycats4]

viewbots, if he hadnt cheated social media with viewbots he would only have a few thousand subs to this day, levy rozman also cheated like this, they could be sued for life changing money and the dumbest thing about it is the evidence is all there in their videos proving it to be illegal for everyone to see its especially obvious on twitch

[@The_funny_person]

can’t wait for this to get copyright striked, goodluck with dealing with it dawg 🙏

[@Pascal-md9os]

So you dont want people to know the truth about Hikarus behaviour?

[@The_funny_person]

@@Pascal-md9osNono, i was saying that as in i was mocking hikaru’s behaviour, and it’s most likely inevitable, knowing how much of a baby he can be.

[@Popmycherryyo]

@@The_funny_person Get JJJacksfilm included, and he'll fight off that copyright strike with ya, AND make a mockery of hikaru, his videos and his team at the same time!

[@thekycklingwizard78]

Cringe victim syndrome complaining before anything ever happens

[@The_funny_person]

@@Popmycherryyo I’d LOVE to see jacksfilms on this.

[@jackkaczmarski]

16:24 - Naroditsky is a STANFORD HISTROY GRAD TOO... So take him seriously when he talks about Mussolini

[@The_funny_person]

You don’t really need a history grad to know how crappy mussolini was.

[@TimeNap]

Magnus loses: My opponent played well. Hikaru loses: I was cheated and I'm a victim!!!

[@HappyTofu2424]

Man I gotta see Hikaru do a reaction to this LMAO

[@barddz4646]

? He will never

[@tobyonatabe2601]

Too bad we never will for reasons explained in the video

[@kutubkhanbhatiya4573]

That would be interesting!!

[@CalderTF2]

Technicals jumpscare

[@Panda-zf4gh]

There’s a reason he’s #2. It’s a competitive sport that he’s serious about. It’s not a monastery, he shouldn’t be the most polite and submissive person for your satisfaction, if you can’t take it, don’t watch him instead of crying

[@aten9962]

If he would take that shit serious he would put his personality on his sleeve instead of striking anyone who is critical of him, like a bitch

[@Sockren]

hikaru is like a 4chan troll that just coincidentally is one of the best players ever. if he was just IM or FM he woulda been a laughing stock in the chess community

[@Sockren]

also you had the PERFECT opportunity to make a rey enigma joke for a video literally titled "when the mask slips" you will not be as funny as technicals and you are technicals' luigi

[@austrixs]

Ikrrr omgg​@@Sockren

[@zfeazcesd1047]

i disagree, you are implying that he's not a laughing stock in the chess community when he absolutely is. the random viewers aren't what I mean by the chess community, I mean titled and tournament players who have known and interacted with him for many years. this isn't even a secret either, it's just that the majority of chess players are extremely non confrontational, but if you have listened to many different GMs talk a lot over the years you can occasionally catch them reveal how they feel about him...and ben finegold has straight up said as much on more than one occasion. i haven't watched this vid yet but there are endless examples of him acting despicably and even despite him being rather guarded on his stream his toxicity still leaks out from time to time. yes, he's a fantastic chess player, but that doesn't make you a good person. that doesn't make you an intelligent person. his speech pattern actually reminds me a lot our presidentelect...says a lot of words but most of it is repeating the same phrases multiple times when they they often don't mean very much the first time it is said.

[@tomasarana8450]

@@Sockren Except he isn't trolling. He is a laughingstock already. And I don't know why you bring up the cool guys from 4chan.

[@GiornoGiorgioGiovanni]

@@zfeazcesd1047 ben finegold is a clown.

[@prafjs]

Hikaru hates Kramnik with passion but accidentally become Kramnik of today's generation is diabolical.

[@youtubeaccount2429]

He does not like looking into the mirror.

[@MichaelXiong-jx7ke]

How is Hikaru Krammnik? Hikaru has defended countless of people from being accused by Krammnik. He is a hero.

[@prafjs]

@MichaelXiong-jx7ke No human is a hero. Everyone has their own flaw. And in Hikaru's case, he has a lot of flaws.

[@itzyuzuruclips]

​@@prafjs hikaru sure has tons of flaws even the fans know but which one of these make him like kramnik?

[@Peter-hz3vs]

@@itzyuzuruclipsThe accusation he made against Kramnik and those "statistical evidence" were exactly the same as what Kramnik is doing today. And what you need to remember is that people generally don't believe in Kramnik's accusations on Hikaru and Daniel. But at the time, "those evidence of Hans' cheating" were presented in the mainstream media and everyone was accusing him. And even then, Hikaru unlike Magnus kept on pressing on the gas pedal and stir up the whole drama. His accusation is definitely worse and more damaging to Hans than all of Kramnik's accusation combined.

[@raforsomething]

So you’re telling me his disrespect speedruns are just a guise to be himself

[@alois7726]

Yes Its kinda cool to see him with no filter

[@alhfgsp]

It's crazy to see him beat high-level people so easily who have dedicated their entire lives to chess in some of the speedruns. They aren't in the stratosphere like Hikaru, so they get run over like it's nothing, despite being 2400s or even gms. He's just that good. He can make another gm look like a noob.

[@catandfishfc]

The Hikaru Nakamura Sportsmanship Award is famed across the chess world

[@SomeMind]

09:25 No, it wasn't sarcastic. Danny Rensch is all about PR and damage control. Hikaru is important to their brand. He was killing the Hikaru-is-having-a-beef-with-Rensch narrative by praising Hikaru's tweet. 13:36 Chessbae is not anonymous to everybody. Chesscom knows who she is. Hansen met her once in real life too. She was known to be the wife/ex-wife of a GM. Her identity was once leaked on Reddit but the post was deleted quickly.

[@swimmerboy172]

Sarcastic - inauthentic. Think the main point is what was said was not what was meant. Whether it’s PR or sarcasm, it wasn’t honest.

[@SomeMind]

@@swimmerboy172 There's a big difference. Sarcasm would mean they had real beef and Rensch is trying to roast him more. Inauthentic (and non-sarcastic) means Rensch wants to damage control and show no beef. I wasn't criticizing the video. He did a great job summarizing. I've been in the online chess community on all platforms for 6+ years, so I just wanted to clarify this point.

[@swimmerboy172]

@ it would be a big difference if one of you provided 100% non-disputable evidence that your take (PR or sarcasm) was what was intended. But until that’s the case, the main point, which you both agree is that Danny was not being sincere.

[@agarajduuddbveh]

Dude, why are you so reticent to accept that your correction was incorrect?

[@AG-ld6rv]

Great video, didn't know he had so many slips. I stopped watching Hikaru after the Hans debacle. I could write several paragraphs about this, but YT comments must be small. Let's just summarize it as him looking at a silly Excel file created by a random FM. "I don't know guys, this is weird [so, Hans did it?!], but I'm not an expert on statistics [Oh, so he may not have done it.]." The big issue? Hikaru is likely in the top 10 in the entire world to comprehend engine statistics on an intuitive level... and also simply examine the ACTUAL GAME move by move to assess how unusual the moves are. The dude's job is to relentlessly study engine lines all day long... and play peak chess as well as a human can. The "oh wow, weird" and "hmm, not sure" was all just an act to pump up clicks, farm the drama, and do all of that at the cost of Hans's mental health. Just an unkind thing to do. He is a figurehead to many people unfamiliar with top chess and its link to engines during prep and study. I'd say he had a duty to express his internal opinion rather than play the fool for, was it weeks?, just to make a little extra cash. He feigned ignorance over and over, greatly amplifying the community's belief about Hans's illegitimacy over the board / as an adult. And at the same time, every non-Twitch super GM that cared to comment said stuff like, "I think my colleagues can sometimes be too paranoid." (I think that was Aronian. I forget.) You can usually get a quick, no-BS answer from Finegold, and over on that corner of Twitch, Finegold just reported about Hans's past in online chess as a kid, said he didn't cheat against Magnus at the Sinquefield Cup, and then went back to playing chess after 30 minutes tops. For Pete's sake, in this very video (when he was accusing others of unfair play), Hikaru looks at engine statistics provided by chessc to assess how odd his 4 losses are. But when some money drama appears, he is suddenly "not a data scientist." All super GMs have a working knowledge of chess statistics just a bit since, for the last decade, every single game and move they analyze comes with chess evaluations. They may not know exact mathematical analysis, but they know how to see % top move statistics, examine the opening, look at time used per move, think about prep, and roughly understand, with enough games, if someone is fishy to them. And every super GM minus Hikaru examined and said, "Nah, I think he's legit OTB and especially against Magnus in that match." It's as if one super GM had an ulterior motive to mislead 2 million fans of his that trusted his judgment. Oh and that clip about that statistic using multiple engines was very enlightening, TY. I didn't know those 100% statistics counted moves that any of a bunch of engines recommend as #1. So much willful ignorance out of Hikaru during that saga. Additionally, beautiful job tying it back to him critiquing the use of statistics after having done that himself during the Hans drama + him not telling his audience he "made an error" (aka willfully pretended not to understand for drama/clicks). Since I don't watch Hikaru anymore, I haven't seen the Kramnik vs Hikaru stuff directly from Hikaru's mouth. Hilarious, good job. Before the slip ups, he was interesting content to watch. I just can't support someone who, while already being a millionaire, threw a youthful colleague trying to start his career under the bus just for some extra dough... and then not even admitting it to contain the harm. All while every super GM i saw commenting say it was nonsense, showing it was direct manipulation out of Hikaru. He knew what he was doing, and it was very intentional.

[@famoustoxo5644]

Hans is a cheater and a loser, get over it

[@Technicals]

Babe! New Franchise dropped! 🍿

[@egressasap]

I’m pumped wya tho

[@CalderTF2]

The guy from the video

[@ZDTF]

How a smash player got caught with a 12

[@closcer3950]

Remember when your brother was talking to minors and you swept it up?

[@csquared4538]

I get the sense Hikaru has made some strides in maturing. He's nearing 40, got married, and has generally been less toxic. You can still see he has that kind of inability to control his emotions and some borderline autistic traits in his ability to understand social situations and context. I don't think he's an awful guy though. He's just got some personality issues, and he seems to have realized that and made some improvement, even if you want to call it a mask.

[@IceColdCombos]

Yeah, this type of video with chapters "exposing" someone has become totally overplayed. I've never seen one made over something as silly as toxicity, though. 99% of the ones I've seen are of someone being a criminal or being racist... This seems like a drama/stir the pot view farm video, inflating problems that aren't worth making a video essay over.

[@MislavIvkovic-sx8vd]

He is egomaniac that s it

[@Peter-hz3vs]

To be honest, there is nothing autistic about it. Those 'traits' are more like they don't read situations as well. However, Hikaru is one of the most annoying player on the board where he is able to manipulate his body language to fool his opponents and even top players admitted that. The difference is that those people don't go out and destroy people's livelihood.

[@waldemarheart2463]

If this recent behaviour towards Alireza is matured, how bad has he been? 😮 I mean not even apologising later... just poor character...

[@outcast12345]

Yeah but the insulting of alireza "who the fuck you think you are", "your family only cares about chess thats all they have" etc was this year if i remember correctly. So he is still going kinda nuts. I dont hate him but it really fking sucks because he has alot of power and his ego causes problems for others.

[@OrlaTheVillain7466]

inb4 he strikes this video down because he doesnt like being criticized

[@12ww37]

A mind that can premove a W on the first turn against high level chess players can’t comprehend the fact that not everyone is gonna have a nice opinion on you as a public figure 😂

[@ZDTF]

Hello holy beauty

[@B-fq7ff]

@@12ww37 he can't premove a W on the first turn against anyone, please tell me you didnt think the premove meme video was real 🤦‍♂

[@felipemendes5336]

This is not criticism, it's just an hour long video calling him a terrible human being for no reason.

[@regzzuse280]

Hikaru also once typed to Alireza -Nice engine, in the chat.

[@turbotoke8882]

bro hikaru is such a sore loser

[@kappaover4484]

thats funny

[@waylobeat]

was it a joke? or him acutally accusing Alireza. Im asking because how him typing "nice enigne" can be seen as a form of sarcasm

[@regzzuse280]

@waylobeat Typed it after he lost, and Hikaru is not very known to be joyful after losing, so I assume it was an accusation.

[@waylobeat]

@@regzzuse280 ok makes sense!

[@listey]

0:43 "Arguably the greatest speed chess player in history" needs some clarifying as I think you mean "Arguably the greatest ONLINE speed chess player in history". He's never won a rapid or blitz world title over the board, whereas Magnus Carlsen has won 5 and 7 respectively.

[@Spoots420]

Yeah right

[@tachilunas6040]

I love this. I researched this for quite a bit, especially the LPSupi incident which piqued my interest and I am surprised how Hikaru still has such a large platform. Even his last Lie Detector reaction with Anish, and his rant about the "I literally dont care" comment, shows his hypocrisy.

[@tachilunas6040]

NO WAY he copystriked the LPSupi video too. What a joke

[@MrPantoflas]

FINALLY, i am waiting for years for someone to say this, i had so many people ask me why i dont like him, now i can just send them this video

[@Anonymous-jb3mq]

not for long (Hikaru gonna take this one down )

[@成れの果ての狸]

absolutely same

[@epictetus__]

Bruh.. You respectfully pulled Hikaru's pants down in front of his audience 😂

[@toxicch.6739]

Glad to see my strategy of fundamentally not trusting anyone who streams on Kick is still undefeated

[@MrPantoflas]

hikaru is a professional victim

[@JacopoBerzeatti10]

The ace attorney music makes this video so much better

[@AysarAburrub]

the irony of this guy being labeled the face of chess when he's had an entire career of unsportsmanlike behavior and toxicity, and people like Ben Finegold who's dedicated their life to promoting and teaching chess to youngsters and new players being labeled as toxic.

[@catandfishfc]

The "fistfight" was absolutely hilarious though

[@amberhernandez]

It's telling of how well his astroturfing campaign worked that I, whose only real exposure to Hikaru was the 2020-21 online chess boom, looked at the title and went "Really? That guy?". Pogchamps portrayed him as a relatively clean figure of authority and respect to so many outsiders like myself. With the severe drop-off of casual chess viewership afterwards, there's a _lot_ of people like myself who don't know of the rampant censorship being done in his favour. We haven't seen many of the events in this video, and we can't judge what we can't see. Absolutely bananas coverage, fran. Thank you for this!

[@inlovewithi]

You have to go by your impression rather than a bias hit piece that starts off with a guy saying that he doesn't like Hikaru, followed by showing negative situations out of context. This is why propaganda is so effective.

[@amberhernandez]

@@inlovewithi Do you have any context to provide that would clarify the situation? I'd be interested to know what I'm missing out on.

[@inlovewithi]

@@amberhernandez You do know why it would be difficult to provide context if a person that a viewer doesn't know watches a long smear video? There are layers of misinformation, selective facts, and emotional manipulation. So summarizing it in a small comment would be impossible. But take just one example, the start of the video where Hikaru is playing an over the board game, grabs a queen and says, "Are you kidding?" Hikaru has had thousands of over the board chess games, but you've only seen that once. Which means something must have happened. But a person who doesn't know who Hikaru is, watching this video with a very negative tone, with the creator starting out by staying that he hates this guy, is going to assume that this is an everyday attitude when Hikaru is playing an over the board game and then thank the creator for such a great video. Then you have the disrespect speed run, where Hikaru has to play a Dr. Disrespect character, making fun of his opponents, all in good fun, and in the main he has difficult doing and is more jokie than disrespectful, if you take one of the "insult" out of context and show it to the average person who doesn't know who Hikaru is, they're going to think that he's a dick 24/7, constantly disparaging his opponent, when in reality he's doing a "Disrespect Speedrun." So that's why I said to go by your first perception, because that's going to be more accurate to the truth than the truth of what your average person is going to see in this video.

[@amberhernandez]

@@inlovewithi I appreciate the attempt to explain, but I really wish you'd done so without treating me like a lost cause. I didn't follow my first impression because I _want_ to learn more and challenge my own views. Please give me more to go on, and have at least some trust that I'll listen!

[@babstra55]

@@amberhernandez I've been playing online for 20 years and everything in this video is 100% spot on. if you ask any old players they'll say the same. this is the hikaru we've all known forever, and before he didn't even used to hide it.

[@smijam361]

The history of chess is absolutely littered with controversies, bad blood and massive egos. These controversies surrounding Hikaru are incredibly small fry compared to what you could say about Fischer, Lasker, Kasparov, Kramnik etc etc. It would be harder to find a top chess player who hasn't been involved in scandal at some stage.

[@anatolydyatlov963]

He doesn't care. He literally doesn't care. He doesn't care to the point where he will copystrike the heck out of this video. That's how much he doesn't care

[@DoloSoLow]

Guys, I'm not a data scientist

[@tobyonatabe2601]

Aw man I thought everyone was a data scientist😅

[@ukulelebottom]

It's very interesting...

[@N1ckfurie]

How can this possibly be a newsflash to anyone? I mean… you’re right and honestly there’s a lot you didn’t even mention (gambling streams, etc) but people know the way he is (unless they’re kids) they just don’t care

[@yuvrajdahiya3206]

hikaru is kramnik minus the achievements lol

[@incalculas9394]

"in fact, this might just be the one time Hikaru has a legitimate claim of copyright infringement" lmao

[@Blarsen780]

May this vid serve as a reminder to all of us to try to be better sports. It's something i've always sttuggled with and it's always embarrassing in hindsight. It makes people not want to play with you anymore.

[@khblas]

Finally someone call all his shit out, mad respect, but be ready for strikes!

[@fufu77]

This is why it is so funny to watch Hikaru talk about Magnus. You can see how much he wants to say something negative but just can't because Magnus is just so much better and he knows it and so does the rest of the world

[@diggermeddler1169]

Last time I watched toxic Hikaru content my grandma died, wish me luck

[@Justamag1c]

Good video, i wanted something like this to be made about hikaru for a while, although since it is Hikaru the video can be easily twice as long

[@TheEpicRooster]

How did you watch all of it that fast?

[@Justamag1c]

@@TheEpicRooster x2 speed)

[@King_Gaiseric]

@@Justamag1c fellow x2 enjoyer 🗿

[@griteom4538]

@@King_Gaiseric fellow space bar holder

[@metricspace64]

Make sure you're ready to fight the copyright strikes coming. Subbed and liked, appreciate the work and deep dive.

[@TheHipHopVlog]

Dude, I hate to break it to you, but I think people like Hikaru because of exactly all of these reasons. I mean, you're profiting off his toxicity, don't pretend you don't like it either.

[@dankness420]

I just realized, Hikaru takes down videos that make him look bad, let’s see how many people we can get this video to before the takedown

[@jedlabedla5893]

I allways thought it was weird how Hikaru was kind of ignored and didn t colaborate with other chess players despite how huge his twitch is. My man needs a little reality check, gotta work on that introspection.

[@vincentvangogh8092]

i had a UK GM tell me in person about Hikaru calling him a nobody who will never be anything after losing to the English GM

[@andresmartinezramos7513]

@@vincentvangogh8092 Anyone who has been around top flight chess knows this is not an isolated moment

[@petergriffin8086]

Starting to think that Hikaru Nakamura is not a data scientist...

[@kofi3124]

This is gonna blow up, isn't it.

[@audiosurfarchive]

Yep

[@Toruad-o2k]

Definitely

[@LotFrat]

I mean, Hikaru's toxicity isn't really unknown he's definitely trying to be better, too

[@tobyonatabe2601]

Let's hope it gets too big for hikaru and his fans to ignore

[@Shivoham2243]

Yea

[@abhijitjena4489]

HIkaru is a man child that is obessed with Magnus

[@nocapguy9831]

hypocrisy is one word that describes hikaru perfectly

[@prafjs]

What is worse is how he is actively trying to erase all of his bad digital footprint by issuing a takedown on every bad clip about him.

[@abbas_oso]

how did i ended up watching a one hour video chess drama when i haven't played that game in my life

[@OmateYayami]

Ha. Be scared of the algos. They know what to serve you even if you think it doesn't make sense. Now you probably also have an opinion or bias you wouldn't have had or needed.

[@Xearrik]

Let me start by saying that I've never heard of this guy. I don't watch chess content, so there is no chance of a bias defense thing going on here. It seems to me that you were pretty uncharitable at times in this video. I did finish the whole thing. It looks like he's a guy who has bad instincts socially, but for the most part when he's aware of it, it tries to correct it most of the time. And tries to hide those mistakes because of shame. And less of a mask slipping thing. I think the mask slipping thing implies that the person is a villain but is just trying to hide it. Like the Green Goblin wearing a Spider Man suit. There is never any intent to change. Just intent to hide the bad guy stuff. Where as someone who does bad things, is ashamed of those bad things, and then tries to change, isn't wearing a mask when they are doing good and the mask is slipping when they do bad. It's just a person failing to achieve their goals or succeeding. The reason this distinction is important is because people can change. And with time he could become a better person. Though calling out the bad behavior is important in this, so I'm not saying the video should not have been made, I'm just saying that it seems uncharitable at times. And the title wasn't properly demonstrated in the video to a satisfactory level for me. But titles are often that way, so whatever. It's hard to strike a balance between accurate and give me those clicks. I would say that people should lean more towards accuracy when analyzing a real person's character though. Incidentally, I think Leffen is an example of someone who leans more towards a genuine mask slip example. I don't think it's ever a black and white thing. It's never likely fully one way or the other. I think Leffen has tried to soften some of his behavior because he recognized it as bad. But I also think that a large amount of his behavior is only being curtailed because of shame and fear of rejection, but he doesn't really think he's wrong. This is why I think he's a much better "masked slipped" person then Hikaru. I could be totally wrong though. This is after just one video. A very long one video though.

[@hossamashraf1542]

I don't agree with you

[@Ameerchess]

Next video: The victims of kramnik

[@thefranChise1]

That one would be interesting…

[@RubixNinja]

There is so much lore to Hikaru being an asshole, that it's almost impossible to just summarize it. Worst offenses to me, 1. Copywrite striked Chessbrahs(Eric) for simply beating him in a online game and posting a side by side commentary on it. bonus- drunkenly physically attacked Eric in the front lawn of a party(Hikaru just got flopped like a fish) 2. Accusing many many players of cheating, like Andrew Tang for no reason other than beating him in blitz. He rival Kramnik is how much he accused people of cheating. 3. Stirred the pot on the Hans situation with zero evidence whatsoever. There are untold number of stories of Hikaru bullying people at chess tournaments

[@realteamwall]

you love me cause you know that im an asshole

[@RubixNinja]

@@realteamwall I do like hikaru's content xD

[@magikarp653]

Ok but all of this is well known and addressed in the video. Where is the "so much lore" part?

[@ermes6358]

@@magikarp653 In the video?

[@Christo_Trismegistus]

So you admit to liking crap content and a crap person

[@iwantanapple1848]

My life is like a video game trying hard to beat the stage

[@redcarp9867]

My man found a gold mine, a niche network, in Chess drama. I had no idea it went this deep. Keep up the good work.

[@bigerrol6943]

this was a very needed video, hikaru has been toxic and people werent aware for too long

[@nottog]

I see and appreciate your script writing AND editing skills bro! Insane usage of hooks and questions at the start of chapters, editing was well timed and kept me engaged in the video. Can't remember the last time I've watched something this long from start to finish. Kudos my friend

[@takatotakasui8307]

12:38 Fucking ChessBae. Holy shit. This video is taking me back. I can't believe an anonymous parasocial superfan has become a footnote in chess history

[@squisher1235]

Didn't watch most of the video, but I'm somewhat familiar with the main points brought up. He's not a great person, pretty insecure, and is not just "toxic" for competitive reasons. What I disagree with is your conclusion his skill is the only thing that makes him relevant. I just disagree with this. He gained massive following in the chess boom on twitch at the right time, people stuck around not just because he's "the best", but his commentary during games is objectively entertaining. Very few chess players can keep up that energy while playing, partially due to him winning most of the time but it's still impressive. His on the board analysis while playing is impressive, and you could argue he'd be more popular if he was funnier or had a better personality, but that's not the point you made. People often downplay others success (usually due to jealousy), by claiming it's only "x" thing that made them popular, but that's not how success is created. You're likely unaware of other factors which helped grow his popularity.

[@thefranChise1]

Yea I can definitely see that. I do think his commentary is still the result of his skill as a player (because he’s so good, he can provide better analysis) and if he wasn’t as good as he is, his commentary would also be much much worse.

[@audiosurfarchive]

existing skill level + pandemic + Twitch = initial popularity = "he streams? Imma peep that" = wow he isn't a stuffy stereotypical nerd = wow he's good at chess (they don't watch anyone else} = his popularity goes up [...]

[@tarapuxen228]

Let’s be real-an average viewer can’t follow Hikaru’s in-game analysis or judge whether it’s good or not. His charisma and overall personality are just as important to his success as an entertainer as his chess skill. In fact, skill alone isn’t a key factor in the popularity of any chess content creator. A lot of GMs have tried making content at some point, but their videos were mostly educational and not entertaining, so they never became popular. On the other hand, the most popular guy is basically a total clown whose content is 90% entertainment and built on screaming, overreacting and exaggerating, which attracts broader audience.

[@babstra55]

hikaru's commentary is absolute garbage chess-wise, you'll never learn a single thing watching him. he understands the games, but he's completely incapable of communicating it in a way that's beneficial to anyone under GM level. compare him to naroditsky for example and you instantly understand how much more you learn from danya. what's great about him for a watcher though is that he plays A LOT every single day. there's not many streamers who play even 10% of the games he does, and none of them daily. with everybody else it's like 30 minutes blitz maybe 1-2 times a week, but you can always trust hikaru to be there playing 5h a day if you just wanna see blitz.

[@B-fq7ff]

"didn't watch the video but" 💀💀

[@yuvrajdahiya3206]

as they say everybody has a hikaru story he literally has had fights with all gms,organisers and officials at some point of his career as nepo said in the days of international chess club hikaru used to say pretty mean things on internet leading to fair share of physical confrontations

[@afterneet4421]

This is true btw😂

[@Deciverse]

make sure to download this vid before the copyright strikes come in 🤣🤣

[@sergemerto256]

Hikaru and Kramnik. Match made in heaven!!

[@closcer3950]

It's so great knowing that he was never number 1 and always lived in the shadow of Magnus. You just know he's eternally seething about this

[@DeckardGains]

Well I’m never getting those minutes of my life back. All I heard was hate for Hikaru for no reason. “Ppl get tilted and that’s okay” Hikaru: Gets titled and apologized “See hikaru is toxic” ???? You contradict yourself every 3 minutes.

[@PR_13007]

Dude ifkr, i can't anymore with these people. I bet they never sat down to watch his stream in their life. It's exactly like you said. So many effin youtubers/streamers have same or worse faults but its always Hikaru getting the heat somehow. They choose to completely ignore all the good Hikaru does for charities/online and local chess communities. This video was a whole lot of saltiness but nothing too crazy imo. This was a waste of time.

[@captaincool6785]

Did you guys even watch the video? Copyright striking videos out of spite is more than getting tilted, and people rely on their channel, so its even worse, especially when Hikaru did the same thing anyway. And him and Chessbae abusing his power and blacklisting people Hikaru doesnt like is insane. Its goes way above reasonable tilt.

[@nevermindshort3]

@@captaincool6785 Not only copyright striking out of spite. Also before he copyright striked, he removed any content, that he could get copyright striked for. So it was pre planned, not a spur of the moment anger.

[@wallyssonwallysson9412]

You're such a loser NPC, get out of the internet, you literally have negative IQ

[@pvtcantrell74d]

I’m glad you made this video. I always knew something was off about that guy. I like watching him play chess but the mask definitely slips and you get to the see the real Hikaru every now and then.

[@chessfictionchess]

this is a great video. i was shocked when i got copyright claimed/striked as I'm a tiny youtuber by gmhikaru just for posting a few (very short) funny clips of him insulting kramnik. wouldnt suprise me if he attempts to take this video down somehow.

[@krio3060]

The bridge clip is killing me. I cant believe he would say that

[@Hakaimono]

Bro Arjun is literally one of the strongest players in the world right now, and even three years ago he was pretty damn good. I didnt know that Hikaru had accused people just like Kramnik who constantly gets memed on (and rightfuly so) even in Hikarus streams. I kind of liked watching him just be really good at meme openings and beat grandmasters with them, and yes as a chess player he is still amazing, but I will stear clear of his content especially given that I like Gotham better and also Danya and a bunch of other great streamers are out there. Great video man, hope it doesnt get striked.

[@babstra55]

yeah hikaru has accused easily hundreds of players and only stopped (kinda) after hans sued him. like it used to happen almost daily before FOR 20 YEARS.

[@qwert28077]

Good thing magnus exists​@@babstra55

[@yenrotslyk2]

This comment reeks of naiveté

[@ultimateichigo]

Narcissism is what describes this Hikaru fellow. To a degree that he's hurting people around him while he literally doesn't care.

[@zigafide]

wow bro really is the leffen of chess

[@lokks2130]

I said it on one of Anna's videos and I'll say it here again. I don't know how people can watch Hikaru. All I see is a cold, unpleasant man with an ego that was probably left unresolved a long time ago. He's not entertaining or charming in the least.

[@jgreen802]

Because he is one of the greatest chess players of all time, it's as simple as that.

[@javierarencibia4082]

Just because hes a great player doesn't mean he isn't the Chess Goblin. He's always been.

[@persiankingish]

Thank you for putting in the effort to create and publish this video. I’d like to point out that no one gets away with anything, karma always catches up sooner or later.

[@ramanahveljeyaseelan5406]

I wanted pause the video and tell you that you made an incredibly and well documented video Like the transition between emotions were alwayd so funny.

[@polarvortex3294]

In an infamous MMA fight, a fighter who was getting knocked around in an earlier round and who would perhaps enter the next round groggy, ended up taking extra time on his stool between rounds due to the shenanigans of his cornermen, who had accidentally-on-purpose slopped too much Vaseline on him. The other fighter, who was ready to go in full accordance with the rules when the round should have started, ended up pacing back and forth, confused and increasingly mad, until the miniature fiasco was straightened out. And it was wasn't long before the cheater, refreshed and happy, took advantage of the honest fighter's distracted frustration and knocked him out. This made big news and involved around 30 seconds of delay. So I guess I'm saying that Nakamura had a very serious point that giving someone an extra twenty minutes of rest in a blitz tournament while he was left stewing is total bull. It's wrong to act like he was a crybaby here when in a high-stakes match his opponent was gifted an advantage.

[@babsch837]

Hikaru, the manbaby.

[@k3n10]

This gonna blow up lol, hikaru fan but i always love to hear the criticisms of those i support, really good video and u made a lot of good points

[@ParrotMan01276]

I don't care for Chess, so I'm sitting here listening to a segment about a guy I have never watched and won't ever. I'm only doing it for the algo. :P

[@babstra55]

:D that's funny but I get it.

[@jay-sin-tv]

“Are you kidding?” in that tone is so good, though. LMAO

[@inphlox]

Great video! I kinda knew a lot of the drama around Hikaru and wasn't really ready to cringe for an hour straight, but as usual, your storytelling is top-notch and I couldn't click away.

[@johanliebert5781]

5:28 Wow, I've watched Hikaru for quite some time now, but I NEVER saw that Alireza clip. Holy mother of Paul Morphy, that was something.

[@Redstoner34526]

“If you can’t let go of the past, you will never move forward”