Hikaru Nakamura on Hans Niemann's poor show at UzChess Cup: 'Nepo crushed and blew him off the board'

Hikaru Nakamura joked that Hans Niemann will take to X and post some angry tweets after losing to Ian Nepomniachtchi at the UzChess Cup 2026. The loss had ended Niemann's chances of winning the tournament while Nepomniachtchi kept himself alive.

The tournament, however, was won by Uzbekistan's Mukhidin Madaminov with a score of 5.5/10 while Nepomniachtchi finished half a point behind at third.

The match between Niemann and Nepomniachtchi was much anticipated with the two stars coming off an eight-game series in Belgrade which ended in a tie.

Nakamura analyses Niemann vs Nepo

Niemann and Nepomniachtchi recently played in Serbia where both of them won once each and drew six times. The two also have a history as Niemann's invitation for the 2024 Gashimov Memorial in Azerbaijan was revoked when Nepomniachtchi allegedly joined opposition from the other players.

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"What can I say about all the drama that’s going on between these two players? Some people would say it’s good for chess, some would say it’s bad for chess. It feels like it added a certain oomph to the tournament and the specific match at the end. So, it’s probably something that a lot of people like," Nakamura said on the tensions between the two players.

"At any rate, this is a fantastic victory for Nepo after he felt slighted in a recent match in Serbia. He really does show how strong he is. He shows great prep.

"Of course, Hans also showed great prep, and this game should have been a draw of perfect play. But nonetheless, Nepo blitzes out 40 plus moves. Hans slips on a banana peel, makes one slight error, and that’s all it takes in order to get crushed and blown off the board by Nepo," the World No.2 said.

"For Hans, he’s going to be steaming. Probably will put out some angry tweets about this game. But at any rate, a fantastic result for Nepo. For Hans, he’ll have to focus on the next chance to win a big tournament," Nakamura concluded.