Hikaru Nakamura shares love of chess with Filipino fans

World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura (third from left) during a press conference ahead of the WR Bughouse Championship. –CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–For Hikaru Nakamura, chess remains one of the few pursuits capable of bringing people together regardless of age, background or skill level.

The American Grandmaster shared that view on Monday as he met Filipino fans during the opening day of the WR Bughouse Championship at Grand Hyatt Hotel in Bonifacio Global City.

“It’s a great passion of mine to help popularize chess in the world, that’s why I came here,” said Nakamura, the world’s No. 2-ranked player behind Magnus Carlsen.

“I see young and old and even accomplished players like Asia’s first Grandmaster Eugene Torre, and at the end of the day, the one thing that bonds us together is our great love of chess.”

Nakamura drew a large crowd throughout the day, signing autographs and posing for photos with fans eager to meet one of the game’s biggest stars.

“It’s seldom you get to see a No. 2 player in the world in person, so I’m happy to get that chance myself,” said Filipino woman Grandmaster Janelle Mae Frayna.

The two-day tournament has attracted 75 teams from 22 countries competing in bughouse, a variant of chess in which captured pieces are transferred to a teammate for use on a neighboring board.

For WR Chess founder Wadim Rosenstein, that format gives everyone a chance.

“I’m better in bughouse than in chess and here we can all beat Grandmasters, even Magnus Carlsen,” he said.

The event carries a total prize pool of $100,000 (around P6.1 million).