A biography for Hikaru Nakamurahasn’t been written yet.
“Chess is a game where all different sorts of people can come together, not a game in which people are divided because of their religion or country of origin.”
“The first championship in 2005 will always be the most special but winning this fifth one was by far my best performance because of the strength of the field.”
“I will say there have been occasional times - not when I'm playing, but when I'm studying - that I have found a little bit of alcohol has been good for the creative process.”
“I was rather nervous when I was 10 years old.”
“The way I play is very unique.”
“When you're 17 and 18 is when you get really good, and in college, you have to put the chess aside.”
“No matter how badly you play, unless you make a flat-out blunder, there's always going to be some narrow path to being able to save the game and draw instead of losing.”
“It's very encouraging that the game of chess is growing in the U.S. and is becoming more popular.”
“In poker, you want to play the weaker guys. In chess, it's the opposite.”
“No, I've never had a job other than being a chess player.”
“I play different styles, and am very good at changing how I play.”
“Everybody uses computers to train so much now that the first nine or 10 moves of a match are made without thinking.”
“Life is very much about making the best decisions you can. So I think chess is very valuable.”
“There aren't really any 'American' grandmasters that are higher rated than me.”
“Chess.com is my home turf.”
“It's good to win. Losses aren't good, and draws are O.K.”
“When you watch chess, you don't see the four hours that the player spends preparing for a match ahead of time.”
“I get tired of the traveling.”
“If you're not at the elite levels there are a lot more opportunities to play tournaments.”
“I'd rather play for the Yankees. You get more money.”