Hikaru Nakamura talks about the documentary between Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann
NEW DELHI: World number two Hikaru Nakamura has made it clear that he is not interested in watching Netflix’s latest documentary on the controversial rivalry between Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann, even as the film sparks a new controversy in the chess world.Speaking after a recent match in the FIDE Candidates competition, Nakamura admitted that he had not followed the documentary or the reactions to it online.
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“Well, I mean, I don’t know because I haven’t watched it. I also haven’t been on social media, so I have no idea. I mean, I would say what I said before on my stream yesterday after my match, which is what I heard about it, they don’t go into much behind the scenes on how everything happened before the event, which is very disappointing,” he told ChessBase India.
The documentary, Unspeakable: Chess Comrades, revisits the infamous encounter at the 2022 Sinquefield Cup in which Nyman defeated Carlsen, sparking one of the biggest controversies in modern chess. Carlsen’s withdrawal from the tournament and general doubts about Niemann’s playing led to widespread speculation and divided opinions across the chess community.Nakamura believes that the film may fail due to the background of the accident not being fully explored.
“Because without that, I think people lack proper context. But I have no intention of watching it. There’s a saying, I know it’s a little different, so it’s a paraphrase, but they say you should never sleep in your workplace or something like that,” he added.To make his position clearer, he said: “There are more crafts that they specifically use. But I would say that I spend enough time on chess. I will not spend my free time seeing more chess. It is of no interest to me at all.”Read also: Magnus Carlsen vs Hans Niemann Documentary: Is ‘Untold: Chess Mates’ worth watching?Meanwhile, Niemann uses the documentary to send a powerful message about his ambitions, declaring: “I’m going to be a cold-blooded killer. I’m going to be the best player in the world.”