4 min readApr 8, 2026 04:31 PM IST
American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura didn’t shy away from taking a dig at those who were doubting him after a poor start at the Candidates Tournament 2026 in Cyprus. After defeating Fabiano Caruana in the eighth round on Tuesday, Nakamura said it felt nice to “shut up all the idiots who think I can’t play chess anymore.”
Caruana, who was fighting for the top spot against leader Javokhir Sindarov for the entirety of the first half of the Candidates, was handed a shock loss by his countryman Nakamura in the all-American clash in the first round after the midway break with reversed colours.
When asked how he felt after the win against Caruana, Nakamura said: “I feel pretty good. It’s quite nice to shut up all the idiots who think I can’t play chess anymore. Even if I don’t win another game, I’ve at least proved that I belong here. So generally, I’m pretty happy with this game,” he said in the post-match press conference.
Featuring in his fourth Candidates tournament, Nakamura’s winning chances are all but over as he trails Sindarov by three full points with six rounds remaining. However, the American said he is trying to keep the negatives of the past aside and is looking to take it day by day. “I think there’s a quote. I’m paraphrasing, but something along the lines of ‘you have to make sure you live your life; most people just exist.’ I think it’s Oscar Wilde. At this stage in my career, having played so many Candidates, you never really know what’s going to happen. So I just try to take it day by day and enjoy everything,” he said.
He also accepted that his chances are as good as done in this event ever since he messed up a winning game against China’s Wei Yi and settled for a draw.
“That said, as far as playing for first place, this tournament has been over for me since around the fourth round, when I didn’t win against Wei Yi. Because of that, it’s hard to be super negative about everything. But winning a game is nice. I feel like I’ve had a couple of opportunities that slipped away, including against Wei Yi,” said Nakamura.
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When asked whether it felt anticlimactic to beat a countryman like Caruana, who is chasing Sindarov, he said, “Yeah, to be honest, I was very surprised that Fabi played the way he did today. I expected something much more aggressive from him, but he tried to play very slowly, and I felt like he just wanted to make a draw. That was very surprising to me. I had prepared for the game, and frankly, you have to play for yourself. As someone who’s played professionally, I don’t think making a draw or giving results is great. Obviously, for the tournament standings and for the fans, it’s not great because now it looks like the tournament is over unless something crazy happens. But I’m just focused on my own game. So yeah, what to do?”
