Chess grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura spends over an hour on one move and still loses

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Hikaru Nakamura, a top chess player, spent over an hour considering just one move during a recent tournament, but ultimately lost the game.

The second-highest ranked American chess grandmaster was playing against 20-year-old Javokhir Sindarov in a qualifying match for the 2026 championship. He had a difficult beginning and quickly found himself playing defensively.

The situation reached a critical point during Nakamura’s 13th turn. He spent a remarkably long time – 67 minutes and 44 seconds, in fact – carefully considering his next move before finally making it.

GM Hikaru takes 67 minutes planning one move

During this tournament, players have two hours to complete their first 40 moves. Nakamura, however, spent more than half of that time on just one move.

Honestly, after watching him think for so long, I was a little disappointed when his move was called an “inaccuracy” by Sportstar. Basically, it meant all that pondering didn’t really help him, and it actually made his position just a tiny bit worse compared to his opponent’s pieces.

Honestly, it was tough to watch because it ended up costing Nakamura the game. Sindarov really took control, and in the end, Nakamura just couldn’t pull through and lost the match.

My opponent was pretty frustrated after I won. He said he spent ages thinking about his move, then played the wrong one! After that, he admitted I really stepped up my game and played well.

Top chess players often take time to consider their moves, but this one was exceptionally long. It turned out to be the second-longest move ever recorded in the tournament’s history, surpassed only by Alexander Grischuk of Russia, who spent 72 minutes on a move in 2021.

So, Hikaru Nakamura’s been speaking out about the Candidates Tournament, and honestly, I get where he’s coming from. He thinks the anti-cheating security was way over the top – he even called it ‘nonsense’! It’s definitely sparked some debate, and I’m curious to see how it all plays out.

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2026-04-07 15:19