Hikaru Nakamura

World's No. 2, streamer

“In the opening, I started spending too much time, and at some point, found myself in an uncomfortable situation. I tried to simplify the game, to steer it in a calmer direction. And now I think that was one of the key mistakes — I should have played tougher and more principled.

Then came a moment where I essentially let Fabiano start the real game. At some point I felt that the game should end calmly, that I had everything under control, and that’s when I just relaxed. That was the first big mistake for me. Instead of continuing to play as precisely and carefully as possible, I eased up a bit.

After that, Fabiano began to gradually increase the pressure, and at some point, I started to feel that the game was heading the wrong way. At first it was just a sense of slight danger, but then it became clear that defending would require very precise play.

Then, honestly, I panicked. Not in the sense that I fell apart instantly, but rather I started making decisions that didn’t solve the main problem. I played passively, temporarily plugging holes, but never truly stopped Caruana’s plan.

And then a moment came when he actually gave me a real chance to save a draw. And that was the most painful part of the whole game: after hours of tough defense, when my opponent finally gave me a way out, I couldn’t find the right path myself… That, of course, is a very tough moment. It was that feeling of: ‘Wait, what did I just do?’

To sum it up, this game was a very instructive one for me. But on the other hand, it’s a long tournament, and I’ve been in this situation before. Life doesn’t end here — the tournament has just started.”