‘This makes chess look like a sporting event’: Carlsen’s coach backs Nakamura after king-toss incident against Gukesh

Hikaru Nakamura’s act of tossing D Gukesh’s king into the crowd after beating the Indian Grandmaster in the exhibition event Checkmate: USA vs India has sparked a big debate in the chess world. Many critics, including former world champion Vladimir Kramnik, condemned Nakamura for what they called a disrespectful celebration.

HIKARU THROWS A PIECE TO THE CROWD TO CELEBRATE THE USA 5-0! @GMHikaru

What an event!! 🔥👏 @CheckmateUSAIND pic.twitter.com/LGnM8JLulJ

— Chess.com (@chesscom) October 5, 2025

Carlsen’s former coach defends Nakamura

However, Peter Heine Nielsen, the former coach of five-time World Champions Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand, has defended Nakamura. Taking to his official social media handle, Nielsen said that the incident at least makes chess look like a sporting event, even though purists like himself may not agree with it.

“There are a lot of things elderly conservative chess-guys like myself find hard to accept. But at least we should agree this makes chess look like a sporting event. Spectators at the venue who care. Teammates who act like teammates in a sport. Players celebrating when they win,” he said.

There is a lot of things elderly conservative chess-guys like myself find hard to accept.

But at least we should agree this makes chess look like a sporting event.

Spectators at venue who cares.
Teammates who acts like teammates in a sport.
Players celebrating when they win https://t.co/Z7gsEqgU2k

— Peter Heine Nielsen (@PHChess) October 5, 2025

When many Indian fans accused Nielsen of bias towards Carlsen and Nakamura, and suggested he hates Indian players, he responded firmly by reminding them of his record as Viswanathan Anand’s coach in four World Championship wins. “I am by a considerable margin the most winning Indian chess coach ever. Please have some respect.”

Meanwhile, Kramnik has called Nakamura’s act “tasteless.” He wrote on X, “This is not just vulgarity, but already a diagnosis of degradation of the modern chess. I don’t know who came up with this childish, tasteless act. Likely this “thinker” had no specific intention to humiliate Gukesh, but could have realized that this public gesture (using opponent’s KING) looks offensive and provocative ESPECIALLY against the World Champion.”

Meanwhile, Levy Rozman, one of the participants, explained that Nakamura’s gesture was pre-planned by the organisers. Rozman, who played for the American team, said Gukesh was aware of it and that it was intended purely for entertainment. The same was also confirmed by the Indian chess commentator Sagar Shah, who was Gukesh’s teammate in the event.