Overview

• Team USA won all five mini-matches in the first leg of Checkmate: USA vs India, held in Arlington, Texas.
• Hikaru Nakamura defeated world champion D. Gukesh after draws in the 10-minute and 5-minute games led to a one-minute bullet decider.
• Fabiano Caruana beat Arjun Erigaisi, Carissa Yip upset Divya Deshmukh, Levy Rozman topped Sagar Shah, and Tani Adewumi overcame Ethan Vaz.
• Organizers encouraged a loud, entertainment-first presentation, with games decided via 10-minute play, 5-minute overtime, and one-minute shootouts if needed.
• Nakamura threw Gukesh’s king into the crowd after his win, prompting online criticism and a rebuke from FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky, who called it showmanship and rather distasteful.