Hikaru Nakamura shared his thoughts his loss to Alireza Firouzja in the Speed Chess Championship Semifinal. Hikaru referenced his age and loss of emotional control, citing Ian Nepomniachtchi and Magnus Carlsen as examples.

Hikaru Nakamura

Hikaru Nakamura

American GM, Streamer

“As I see it, something often happens to chess players with age — you become much more emotional in certain game situations.

At the recent World Rapid & Blitz Championship, there was a game between Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Ian Nepomniachtchi. In critical moments, when Ian was either winning or making a mistake — he made gestures and showed emotions that he didn’t have when he was younger. And it’s a similar story with Magnus. This really does happen with age.

Emotions aren’t always easy to control. The match lasted over four hours, and I was sure it was all over. So, it was an extremely unpleasant surprise when Alireza suddenly sacrificed the rook, and at that point I completely lost my composure.

This is a real tragedy in the context of the entire match, because this is a game I should win 99% of the time, but I’m making the wrong decisions under severe time pressure. I think I just ran out of steam by the end.”

The Speed Chess Championship is a premier online/live hybrid, single-elimination tournament organized by Chess.com. The SCC 2026 Finals starts on February 8 in London, UK. Hikaru Nakamura will play Denis Lazavik in the Consolation bracket to determine the third-place winner.