Five-time U.S. chess champion Hikaru Nakamura is considering ending his career after losing to Uzbek grandmaster Zhavohir Sindarov. He announced this on his personal YouTube channel.
Nakamura lost to the 19-year-old Uzbek in the quarter-finals of the Freestyle Chess Fischer tournament. The American grandmaster praised his opponent’s talent and described the defeat as shocking. He expressed uncertainty about whether he wants to continue playing chess.
It is likely that Nakamura will still participate in the Norway Chess tournament and the World Cup. However, failing in these competitions could mark the end of his chess career.
Zhavohir Sindarov has been playing chess since the age of four. He became a Grandmaster at just 12 years old, making him the youngest Grandmaster from Asia. Sindarov has won Uzbekistan’s championship twice and helped the national team achieve five victories at the Chess Olympiad in 2022.
In the semi-finals of the Freestyle Chess tournament, Sindarov lost to American Fabiano Caruana. The Uzbek grandmaster will face 16th world champion Magnus Carlsen in the third-place match.
Kursiv Uzbekistan also reports that chess player Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova will represent Uzbekistan once again.
