Hikaru Nakamura found himself at the centre of controversy after theatrically throwing D Gukesh’s king following his victory in the India vs USA Checkmate tournament. The move, which took place immediately after Nakamura’s win, sparked outrage across the chess community, with several former players criticising his conduct.

Among the most vocal was former world champion Vladimir Kramnik, who labelled Nakamura’s actions “childish” and said such behaviour had no place in a sport built on respect and discipline.

However, behind-the-scenes footage released by ChessBase India has revealed that the moment was pre-planned and that Gukesh was fully aware of what would happen in the event of a loss.

The video shows the organiser of the Checkmate tournament briefing players to add flair and dram

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