Overview

• At Arlington’s Checkmate: USA vs India, Team USA swept 5-0 and Hikaru Nakamura threw D Gukesh’s king into the crowd after delivering checkmate.
• Levy Rozman and other participants said players were briefed to use theatrics, and the event account posted a tongue-in-cheek note admitting FIDE etiquette was set aside.
• FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky questioned whether any top player would do the same, and Nakamura replied to the organisers’ post with laughing emojis after earlier saying he planned the toss.
• Former world champion Vladimir Kramnik condemned the act as vulgar and harmful to chess, with Singapore’s Kevin Goh Wei Ming also critical and Anish Giri more dismissive of the fuss.
• Gukesh calmly reset his board on stage, no sanctions or rule changes have been reported, and attention now turns to the return leg in India.