1/2006 - This is the third US White Knight award won by the current US
Champion Hikaru Nakamura. In 2003, he won the US True Grit award. In 2004,
he won the US MVP award for an incredible year in chess. He dominated chess in
the United States and established himself as a force in the international
scene. In 2005, Nakamura was named the Samford Chess Fellow.
This fellowship will allow Nakamura to enhanced his chess skills and career,
by providing him some financial resources for the year. The fellowship lasts
for one year and is renewable for a 2nd-year. The fellowship is only given
to top young players.
In 2005, Nakamura continued where he left off. His stats for 2005
seem
modest when compared to his dominance in 2004, but they still meet the MVP
standard. We have to keep in mind that Nakamura is now playing the top players
in the world. This past year, Nakamura has faced the following top 10
players: Boris Gelfand, Vassily Ivanchuk, Alexi Shirov, and Levon Aronian.
So 2nd and 3rd placed finishes on the international scene are very good.
Nakamura was featured in issue 1 of the 2005 New In Chess
Magazine, where he said: "there is no point in taking draws." He also made the cover of
the February issue of Chess Life for his
spectacular win at the 2004 US championship. He made the cover again in the
July issue, with his win at Foxwoods. He was also featured in the New
York Times. In the Times article, Nakamura said "The way I play is very
unique, It's more or less fearlessness. I'll play some of these really
crazy moves that people are not going to be expecting. The way I play is not
like most people. The moves are more computeresque. They're not the moves
that most humans are going to play." The only way to describe his style of
play is to say he plays "Nakamuraesque Moves." Nakamura jumped
54 places in the FIDE rating charts this past April. He jumped from 98th place
to 44th in the world. He is currently rated 2644.
2005 International record:
In January, Nakamura finished in 9th out of 120 players in the 10 round
Gibraltar tournament. He finished 1/2 point out of the lead and finished with a score
of 7/10.
In April, Nakamura took 3rd behind Timman, and Sasikiran at the Sigeman
Tournament in Copenhagen.
In July, in the 6-player Biel Tournament (category 16) , Nakamura
finished tied for 4th with Christian Bauer, behind Volokitin,
Gelfand, and Pelletier. Nakamura finished ahead of
Magnus Carlsen.
In September, Nakamura finished second in Laussane Young Masters Tournament.
He Kayoed Nana Dzagnidze and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. However, the determined
Andrey Volokitin Kayoed Nakamura in the finals.
This Past October, Nakamura finished tied for 2nd, with Ashot
Anastasian, behind Levon Aronian at the 10-player, category 17 Karabakh
tournament in Stepanakert, Karabakh. In this tournament Nakamura defeated
Victor Bologan and Alexy
Dreev.
2005 Domestically:
In March, Nakamura won the 2005 Foxwoods Tournament.
He came charging out of the gate, by winning his first five games. He took first
by finishing with 7.5 out of 9 points.
In May, in the huge HB Challenge, Nakamura came in 12th place.
In July, Nakamura tied for 3rd in the World Open in Philadelphia.
In December, Nakamura took first at the North American Open in
Las Vegas
In March of 2006, Nakamura will be going for his 2nd US
Championship.
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