Speaker Profile

Hikaru began his chess career at age 7 coached by his stepfather, FIDE Master Sunil Weeramantry. At the age of 10 he earned the title of USCF Chess Master, making him the youngest to do so and just a few years later in 2003, at age 15 years and 79 days, Hikaru became a FIDE Grand Master, beating Bobby Fischer’s record by 3 months. He's a 5 time USA Chess Champion - 2005, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2019. In October of 2015, he became the 2nd highest rated player in the world with a rating of 2816. Hikaru roared back to classical prominence in 2022 winning the prestigious FIDE Grand Prix event, winning him a spot in the 2022 Candidates.

Long considered one of the strongest speed chess players he’s won five chess.com Speed Chess Championships in a row including 2022 where he defeated Magnus Carlsen in the finals.. Since that time he has held first or second place on the FIDE blitz rating lists, proving once again he is a force to be reckoned with.

Nowadays you can frequently find him streaming live on twitch.tv/gmhikaru, where he is playing elite players, odds games with subscribers, giving lessons to prominent streamers, or just goofing around with his viewers. You can also find him on youtube.com/gmhikaru where you can find his recaps of over the board games as well as his many blitz, rapid and classical tournaments and other entertaining chess content.