'Bad Sportsmanship': Hikaru Nakamura Receives Huge Backlash For Throwing D Gukesh's King Into Crowd During India vs USA Checkmate Event

World Champion D Gukesh succumbed to a defeat against Hikaru Nakamura in Arlington, USA. The loss resulted in India being whitewashed 0-5 by USA in the first Checkmate event.

The match was filled with many tense moments, but the United States of America held on to their nerves and clinched the tie in a live arena spectacle. The second leg of the event will be held in India, where Gukesh and co. will look to bounce back with white pieces.

Hikaru Nakamura Criticized For Throwing Gukesh's King

The 'Checkmate: USA vs India' exhibition event has now triggered a massive controversy. After defeating World Champion D Gukesh, Hikaru Nakamura threw his king into the crowd. It is being reported that the 'tossing the king' act was planned by the organizers, but his act hasn't gone down too well. Vladimir Kramnik, the Russian Grandmaster, has been one of the most vocal critics of Nakamura's act, and he openly termed it as a 'degradation of the modern chess'.

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Nakamura's shocking act of tossing Gukesh's king into the crowd is being termed as disrespectful, tasteless, and vulgar. Nakamura not only directed it at the king, the symbol of the game, but people are also seeing it as an act of disrespecting the reigning World Champion.

Here's How The Netizens Reacted

"This was one of the best in-person experiences I have had as someone who has been playing chess for a very long time. We are so accustomed to celebrating our victories on our own. Even the Indian players, despite losing, had a great time. So, this event exceeded my expectations," said Nakamura.

According to chess expert Levy Rozman, he wasn't sure if Gukesh would've done the same thing had he lost against Nakamura. Rozman, while speaking on his YouTube channel, also added that it looked like an unprovoked gesture and had an entertainment angle to it.

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Here's A Look At India's Performance In Checkmate: USA vs India

The Indians faced a heartbreaking defeat while playing with the black pieces in the exhibition tournament. Fabiano Caruana outplayed Arjun Erigaisi, whereas Grandmaster Divya Deshmukh sustained a shocking loss against International Master Carissa Yip. To make things worse, Levy Rozman then defeated Sagar Shah, which was followed by Ethan Vaz losing to International Master Tani Adewumi.