Chess Club Black & White (CCBW)

Tuesday, October 7, 2025

Hikaru King Throw: Chess Marketing or Vandalism?

What happened in Dallas, Texas Sunday night was not showmanship but criminal disrespect to chess, writes Shilpa Mehra

Thousands of parents introduce their children to chess every year hoping the game will teach them discipline, etiquette, emotional management and how to control aggression. As Indian folklore goes, chess was invented to help warring Kings find catharsis on the board instead of in the battlefield.

Thanks to what happened in Arlington, Dallas Sunday night, a lot has been undone for these parents. Grassroots-level arbiters and coaches are left grappling with damage control. A majority of chess players are children and youngsters with Internet access and impressionable minds.

For those who came in late, here's the background — In an exhibition chess match between five Indian and five US players, in an E-Sports stadium full of more than a thousand fans, World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura tossed World Champion D. Gukesh's King to a boisterous crowd after winning. As the videos went viral, eliciting intense reactions, one of the players and streamers Levy Rozman - surely in attempts to save the players from disgrace - came forward to reveal the truth: The players had been told to do so by the organisers! In fact, Rozman added, at one point the players were even expected to break the opponent's King. Rozman, on his part, upon winning had congratulated his opponent and applauded before leaving the stage. The organisers - surely chess-illiterates — had no clue what they were doing. They were just out to create hype at any cost and Nakamura possibly fell into the trap.

These ideas of vandalising chess sets is so pedestrian that it is unlikely to strike even the most ordinary of chess players. Surely, the organisers had no clue about what chess really needs.

GM Jacob Aagaard said it short on X: You entirely missed the point of chess...... (sic).

Grandmaster Nakamura's act is akin to football players slicing open the ball itself and strewing strips around the field. That's putting it mildly.

Carlsen Incident

A few months ago when World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, in an involuntary human display of emotion, slammed the table on losing a won game against Gukesh, he became raw fish to salivating wolf marketeers.

Carlsen remedied the action in a split second by patting the young grandmaster but floodgates had already opened to reels and memes online even as countrywide-arbiters scrambled to announce that this "trend" was not acceptable in tournaments. Random players with little understanding of the sport in random local tournaments had started banging tables much to everyone's dismay.

Vaishali Incident

In January, 2025 Uzbek GM Nodirbek Yakubboev declined to shake hands with Indian GM Vaishali Rameshbabu before a game at the Tata Steel Challengers tournament due to religious reasons. Vaishali said she understood this and had not taken offence. But a witch-hunt had already started for Yakubboev eventually leading him to apologise on camera. No compensation for what he may have suffered or how ridiculous Vaishali may have felt dragged into an insane unnecessary controversy. This opened the floodgates to not-required religious debates

What do you want to see here? Kids throwing pieces and smashing clocks?
(c) Chess Club Black & White, Lucknow

Or, was that also marketing strategy?

Who is coming up with all these ideas?

Who wants to earn money off chess without being an honest part of the community?

Who is so desperate to sell chess?

Do we need to sell our chess soul to popularise the game?

Who are the organisers of the match in Arlington?

Can one justify vandalism as exhibition and promotion?

Nature of Tournaments The very nature of chess tournaments requires large groups of people playing in close proximity in a closed hall. Managing that is a task by itself what with cheating being a monster the chess world is already grappling with. How can chess tournaments be conducted if young people start destroying chess sets and then possibly furniture?

Already there have been incidents in India - This same Sunday, a player, during the last round at a rating tournament in Goa, intentionally swept off pieces from the board and started trash talking in a losing position when his opponent was low on time. Some time back, in the city of Vrindavan, players ransacked hotel rooms before checking out after a tournament. This is not cool. This cannot be acceptable behaviour by any account.

After all, what stars do, fans copy.

Fourteenth World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik, responding to the controversy, said on X:

"These people, "chessgrowers", are trying to hide, that majority of chess fans prefer watching serious chess. It is clear by stat reports. Yet, private interests are driving them to pretend and try to convince us that the opposite is true, by throwing pieces in particular 😊." (sic)

CEO of Fide (the world chess federation) could not have said it better on X:

"The event was a show. Fans were ecstatic. Players were encouraged to behave accordingly. All true.
Now, for better or worse, name me one top player who would do what Hikaru did."

Royal Game

There is a reason chess is called the royal game. It's not about being a purist. Creative marketing strategies keeping the sanctity of the sport alive are possible. The very reason people do chess is because of what chess is. Same goes for any sport. After all, we do have chess boxing now.

Would Gukesh have thrown his King to the crowds even if paid to do so? Why is the world's youngest world champion being portrayed as a hapless victim left rearranging his pieces? His act is of tremendous respect for the game and impresses the real chess audience far more than tossing the opponent's King into the crowd.

The current World Champion D Gukesh, from Chennai, has brought class, values and respect to the game. It was tragic to see him reduced to a bewildered theatrical prop in a marketing gimmick.

This is not even marketing. This is vandalism and desperate vandalism to ruin a traditional sport for a few more online views. No sponsor is coming to support such crass behaviour. No parents will be sending their five-year-olds to chess class to learn aggression.

The organisers of Dallas event advertised: This isn’t your quiet library chess match. It’s a full-throttle arena spectacle with the biggest names in chess, lights, anthems, interviews, and a crowd that’ll shake the walls.

Was that not enough to market the sport? Did they really have to add damaging the chess set? What qualifies as crass behavior? Where do we draw the line?

The next edition of this show, as the organisers claim, will be in India. What can we expect? Maybe, right now, the organisers are exulting that they succeeded in more viewership. For them, there has been no harm and the critics are old fools.

One day, when a ten-year-old boy picks up a King and throws it at his little girl opponent in class as other kids cheer him on while coaches watch in horror, these chess organisers would have pulled the final Faustian deal — sold our chess children's soul to the devil and undone all the work the thousands of unsung unknown heroes of the chess community have done across the world to teach respect, honour, dignity and gender equality.

Hopefully, FIDE will widely publicise and seek to endorse it's etiquette rulebook more strictly protecting the sanctity of our royal sport for all the children and the genuine practitioners of the art of chess.

Somewhere, a classroom of chess kids will again learn to respect their opponents and shake hands. Somewhere, a 64-year-old Grandmaster Gregory Kaidanov will again get up to stand in acknowledgement as a former world champion, decades younger than him, walks up to start a game. Chess is about honour and always was. So, it shall remain.

If you're reading this and are associated with chess in any way, please call out all bad behaviour for the sake of our children and chess generations to come.

(The writer is a journalist and chess player with a Masters in Child Psychology. As founder-director of Chess Club Black & White - Lucknow, her research papers are on developing analytical and lifeskills in children through chess and screen detox through board games for children.)

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Chess Club Black & White stands for honourable combat on the chessboard. Our monthly tournaments focus on themes of respect, discipline and love. Here are some of our tournament themes.

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No Junk Food for Better Chess: Fitness Expert Dr Saranjeet Singh

Lucknow: Fitness and sports medicine specialist Dr Saranjeet Singh advised chess players to give up junk food for better tournament performance. He also spoke on how a high-sugar food intake, a few hours before a tournament game can influence a player's decision-making at the chessboard. The player, he said, does not even know, why he blundered. But a sugar spike and fall has silently ruined his mental efficiency during the game.

Dr Singh was speaking as chief guest at the Strategy Sunday Chess tournament hosted by Chess Club Black & White, Lucknow.

Dr Saranjeet has served as a resource expert for the Sports Authority of India and the Indian Toxicological Research Institute. Notably, he has been the physical trainer for the National Junior Hockey Team and the Punjab Cricket Team. Over the past two decades, he has trained more than 50,000 individuals, earning recognition from luminaries such as former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, and the late Sports Minister Sunil Dutt.

Dr Singh advised the players about proper nutrition, giving up junk food and controlling sugar spikes, protein and good fat intake. He also taught the players a basic breathing exercise of 3-4-5 seconds (inhale-hold-exhale) to improve game performance.

Dr Saranjeet Singh delivering a brief speech to the players and parents

Teenager Dibbyan Chakraboty

On a question by Teenager Dibbyan Chakraboty on mental preparation for tournaments, Dr Singh advised mediation and suggested various modalaties including yoga, pranayam etc... as available to a chess player from India's great culture and heritage.

Tournament results:

Tournament Hall

Open Category Champion Arif Ali

Veteran Arif Ali won the CCBW Chess Open with 6.5/7 points. Pawan Batham (State Tax Office) was a close second with 6 points after a draw with Sayeed Ahmad (Lucknow Chess Centre), 6 points, took home the senior citizen’s trophy. Talented youngsters Aarav Garg, Abhigyan Katiyar and senior coach Mayank Pandey all tied for 3rd place with 5 points each.

Under 16 Overall Champion Aadi Saxena

The star of the tournament was Aadi Saxena who played excellent attacking chess to win the junior section with 6.5 points. Vedant Mishra was second with 6 points.

Under 9 Champion Kunwar Pranav Singh

Kunwar Pranav Singh becomes champion in the under 9 section with perfect score 7/7 points.

More photos in Facebook album (including newspaper clippings):

Other News Links:

Harshit Leads Lucknow's Youth Chess Brigade

Lucknow has always had a legacy of strong chess players. The older generation of Saeed Ahmad, Arif Ali, Junaid Ahmad, Pawan Batham and Devendra Bajpai have now passed on the baton to the next generation for rating tournaments.

Leading Lucknow's young chess brigade is Harshit Amarnani of the Chess Club Black & White. Harshit has been the lone chess star on the international scene from the city and recently won the u2200 Section at the Isola del Sole, Grado, Italy International Open. This catapulted his Fide published rating to 2143 - the highest for the city.

Here's an inspiring an insightful interview with the 21-year-old chess star of Lucknow.

1. You've been playing professional chess for over a decade now. How has the sport changed over the years?

With the advancement in chess engines and software, as well as the rise of new variants, chess keeps evolving in its own way every few months — and those small shifts build into noticeable change over the years. Take Freestyle Chess or Chess960, for example: they've been quietly growing in popularity and then suddenly, there's a boom. In general, with powerful engines available to everyone, opening preparation has become way tougher. Players keep finding solutions to every idea, often playing in unorthodox ways that defy older principles.

2. How do you deal with losing? How do you derive motivation for studying and playing so hard?

Losing is tough — especially when you’ve played a solid game with no obvious mistakes but your opponent just plays better. When both sides are accurate, but theirs is slightly more precise, that stings. It’s not easy to accept being outplayed, but it’s part of the game. At the end of the day, I have to be my biggest supporter and keep believing that I can outwork and outplay them in the future. Motivation helps, but I don’t rely on it to train. It's not always there, and honestly, I don't think it needs to be. What needs to be done, needs to be done — that’s how I approach it.

3. What has been your chess preparation schedule over the years?

I think opening depth and understanding have started playing a bigger role in the past 2–3 years compared to earlier. That said, middlegame strategy and endgame knowledge are just as important, if not more. My schedule’s always varied — I focus on all aspects of the game, but from time to time I spotlight one area more than the others.

4. Do you think physical fitness has a role to play in chess, and how do you deal with in-game pressure?

Definitely. Physical fitness helps build the stamina needed for classical chess, where a game can stretch beyond 5 hours. Since chess is mentally exhausting, physical activity refreshes the mind and creates some balance. As for pressure, I think every chess player faces it to some degree — and it's not easy to manage. It affects how we think and the quality of our decisions. I’m no exception. I just try to stay focused on the board, find the best squares for my pieces, and do everything I can to make the most of the position.

5. What kind of chess preparation is required for rating tournaments?

If you’re starting out, a basic understanding of openings and key endgames is important. Tactics also play a huge role — having an eye for tactical patterns is a strong asset that can help push your rating forward. Of course, as you move up and the competition gets stronger, the preparation becomes more nuanced. Openings need to be prepared in greater depth with the repertoire widened to be able to play every type of position. Middlegames start to get a bit more complicated with emphasis moving from just material considerations to positional ones(spatial, temporal, psychological etc). It’s a boundless sea of learning, and we’re just glad to be swimming in it.

6. Any advice for kids starting out to play rating tournaments?

Just focus on playing your best and enjoying the game, no matter the result — the rest will follow. I think it is really important to enjoy that feeling of sitting at the chess board in a competitive environment before the game. As for preparation, the basics I mentioned earlier are probably a good starting point.

7. How did you take the decision to step from amateur school tournaments into the world of rating ones, and what was the role of your family?

It started quite gradually since there were rating tournaments in my city, so the shift didn’t feel too different at first. As I improved and began traveling for events, I had to weigh my options a bit more — but I always knew this was something I wanted to pursue. Sure, there were doubts, like with anything, but talking it through with my coaches and parents helped clarify the path.

8. With all the travelling and training required, how do you manage your finances?

So far, the costs of tournaments and training have been covered by my family — especially my parents — and I’m extremely grateful for their support.

9. Future plans?
My tournament schedule isn’t fixed yet, but I do plan on playing more this year than I have in the last few. The ultimate goal is to keep learning and improving to become the best I can be — with each title just being a step along that journey.

10. Other hobbies apart from chess? Favourite movies? Books?

I’m a big fan of sport — I try to play table tennis and lawn tennis frequently. Cricket is something I follow more than I play. I also have an interest in financial markets, so I read up on that whenever I get the chance. I don’t watch a lot of shows or movies, but The Big Bang Theory is one I really enjoy.

11. Do you feel you made certain sacrifices as a child or your childhood was different from your classmates because of your focus on chess?

My childhood was definitely a bit different — I had to balance chess alongside school, so I probably didn’t have as much free time as others. It wasn’t always pleasant to miss events or outings because of training or travel. But it never felt like a sacrifice. I was doing something I genuinely wanted to do, so I didn’t feel like I was giving anything up.

— Chess Club Black & White wishes Harshit, his family and his coaches all the best for the chess adventures ahead. Mentored by: Dr Junaid Ahmad, Arif Ali (Lucknow), WIM Mrunalini Kunte (Pune) and Dimitris Farmakis (Athens).