Hikaru Nakamura takes aim at online chess tournament, targets unfair prize structure: 'The problem is...'

American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura has made a bombshell claim about online tournaments at Chess.com, expressing that forcing players to take part in some of the events is affecting their earning value.

World No 2 Nakamura argued that Chess.com forces players to play low or no-pay events by linking them to big-money tournaments. And that such a practice reduces players’ bargaining power and lowers their overall earning value in the market.

Hikaru Nakamura slams online chess circuit

The American Grandmaster further claimed that such practice reduced the importance of chess competitions.

"The problem is, I've said this before about Chess.com, but they've found an ingenious way of making it so they have tournaments that basically have no money whatsoever but are tied to a tournament with big money, meaning that players are effectively forced to play in this tournament, and basically it just kills… completely killing the market value," Hikaru Nakamura said during his stream.

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Hikaru reveals why he still engages in online chess events

Nakamura was also asked about Alireza Firouzja's absence from online contests. He said there was no point in playing for him as he had already qualified for the 2026 Esports World Cup.

He further added that prize money from online events like 'Titled Tuesday' is also insignificant, saying he wouldn't have competed either if it weren't for streaming.

"Alireza hasn't been playing any of these online events, and Titled Tuesday. I'll tell you why, I'll be honest, the reason he's not been playing is because there's no point in playing. Why would he play? There's no point in playing, he's already qualified for EWC, the money is very insignificant, I would say, for this event, and what's the use? Like I'll be completely frank and honest with you guys, if it weren't for streaming, I wouldn't play Titled Tuesday either," Hikaru added.

Grandmaster Hikaru also streams chess content on platforms like Twitch and Kick, where he interacts with fans and engages in high-level chess. He also has a YouTube channel with over 3 million subscribers.