Hikaru Nakamura commented on his defeat in the third-place match at the Speed Chess Championship 2026 in London. Hikaru noted the difficulty of participating in a large number of tournaments and congratulated Denis Lazavik and Alireza Firouzja on their successful performance.

Hikaru Nakamura

Hikaru Nakamura

World No. 2, Streamer

“Streaming is amazing, but playing endless arenas and confusing formats from event to event is simply unacceptable on my part.

Nevertheless, congrats to Denis Lazavik for defending many worse positions and playing some remarkable chess this weekend. Also congrats to Alireza on an excellent match with me in the semifinals. Thanks to the fans for the support.”

The Speed Chess Championship is a premier online/live hybrid, single-elimination tournament organized by Chess.com. The SCC 2026 Finals took place in London, UK on February 8. Hikaru Nakamura finished in 4th place, losing to Alireza Firouzja in the semifinals with a score of 13-15 and to Denis Lazavik in the third-place match with a score of 12.5-13.5.

Credit: Chess.com