Hikaru Nakamura shared plans about his chess career in an interview with NDTV Sports. Nakamura says he’s considering stopping playing Classical chess after the 2028 Chess Olympiad, and notes that the Classical time control should be 60 minutes or longer.

Hikaru Nakamura

Hikaru Nakamura

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“I’m definitely eyeing the 2028 Olympiad as, perhaps, my last classical chess tournament…

I mean, true Classical, not the Fast Classical formats and everything else. But I am thinking about that potentially, the 2028 Olympiad. That’s what I’ve got.

By the way, I think it’s no secret that I’m very opposed to the notion of these 45-minute games being counted as Classical chess. I think that at the present time, it’s possible to have Rapid, slow Rapid, fast Rapid, whatever you want to call it.

I think games under 60 minutes should just be Rapid games.”

Hikaru Nakamura has played Classical chess competitively for more than 30 years. Hikaru is a five-time U.S. Champion and the 2022 World Fischer Random Champion. Nakamura last competed in the Chess Olympiad in 2018. He will not play in the 2026 Olympiad in Samarkand.

Credit: Lennart Ootes