US Super Chess Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura (current #6, former #2 in world) wins age group in 5K run (Sunrise FL)

Pretty well rounded kid.

Actually front page worthy. Is there a link to maximizing intelligence? Not being elite at running, but being more elite at the rest of your life due to running.

Another HS coach..... wrote:

Actually front page worthy. Is there a link to maximizing intelligence? Not being elite at running, but being more elite at the rest of your life due to running.

Err, it's Florida though? Likely it's a semi-retirement community (or rich middle-age people), and he and the 2nd place dude (bib 45) are like the only guys in the 25-29 age group (he was born Dec 1987). Note that there's seemingly no 3rd place medal being awarded, only some lady in pink rummaging in a box or something. I'll be impressed if his time is actually semi-decent...

Hikaru Nakamura

Finish 00:28:11.333 00:28:11.333 08:06:11.333 74 1 49 3.1 9:05 min/m

Seems that four males from 20-29 is about par for the course for this event (Agunstin Ray age 28 was 2nd overall, so I guess he became part of the Top 3 category). If you look in the immediate vicinty, he finished at about the same time as some 8 year old kids (some of which beat him).

The others in the age group:

74 172 Hikaru Nakamura 00:28:11.333 20-29 1 29 Male 49 9:05 min/m

205 45 Arturo Bustos 00:40:28.677 20-29 2 28 Male 95 13:03 min/m

210 179 Dominic Nuzzi 00:40:52.597 20-29 3 27 Male 98 13:11 min/m

258 77 Max Feinstein 00:51:26.683 20-29 4 24 Male 106 16:35 min/m

So he won it by over 12 minutes!

The time may not be good, but it's still a pretty shocking (and amusing) headline. On chess message boards, people constantly make jokes about how fat Naka has become. And he's sponsored by Red Bull, which isn't exactly a health food. But he is especially good under fast time controls -- currently ranked third in the world in blitz chess, where each player typically has about five minutes to make all of his moves, and probably the best in the world in "bullet" chess, whic is even faster (typically requiring the player to make all of his moves within a total time of one minute). So a least he's known for his speed in chess.

I just discovered that "Born to Run," by Chris McDougall, is one of Naka's favorite books. Someone on twitter asked him if that meant that he is going to start playing chess barefoot.

Wasn't Nakamura wearing a Fitbit at some tournament, and commented on how his heart rate went up? I think he actually wore it a second game, other than the promotional one.

I'll Get The Details wrote:

Wasn't Nakamura wearing a Fitbit at some tournament, and commented on how his heart rate went up? I think he actually wore it a second game, other than the promotional one.

July 2016 in Bilbao. He and Wesley So wore them in Round 7 (a boring draw), and then Nakamura went on to wear it again in Round 8.

After 21...f6 the critical position was reached. There Wei could have pushed his a-pawn, a promising move that Nakamura was a bit worried about. Since he was wearing the Fitbit Blaze again, he was able to tell Chess.com that around that moment his heart rate rose to 105. But Wei played more modestly, and Nakamura's pulse went back to his normal 90 for the remainder.

Avocado's Number wrote:

The time may not be good, but it's still a pretty shocking (and amusing) headline. On chess message boards, people constantly make jokes about how fat Naka has become. And he's sponsored by Red Bull, which isn't exactly a health food.

I honestly think he looks like he has slimmed down in the picture from the race.

He has always been a bit thick.

Ho Ree Crap!!

Classic runner...

spending more time running and less time with his career is why he's #6 and not #2 anymore... he's addicted and will continue to try and run more and more.

Mr. Obvious wrote:

I honestly think he looks like he has slimmed down in the picture from the race.

I agee; he looks good there.

He's a fun guy -- exciting chess (although less so recently, I think), and he speaks his mind.

Ho wrote:

Classic runner...

spending more time running and less time with his career is why he's #6 and not #2 anymore... he's addicted and will continue to try and run more and more.

I don't know about that. He rose to #2 after he took up running. Other than Carlsen at #1, the rankings have bounced around a lot during the last several years. Look at guys like Topolov, Grischuk, Radjabov, Aronian, and Anand (as well as Naramura); their rankings have swung pretty dramatically.

In any event, running is probably good for Naka's chess career in the long term. Naka is a bit of a chess junkie; he plays constantly online against nobodies, even in the middle of big tournaments. He gains a lot of weight if he's not careful, and he fuels himselfl on Red Bull during tournaments. He's still a pretty young guy, but chess has a way of aging people who let it take over their lives. When he's in good form, Naka is a really entertaining player; I'd like to see that continue for a long time to come.

6th vs. 2nd is one bad (or good) tournament away. The guys at the top (after Carlsen) are bunched really closely.

There is no doubt that being physically fit is better for a chess player than not being physically fit, especially in terms of stamina. It is probably a very small advantage though.

I haven't been following chess as much as I used to. I have always enjoyed people who can and will play anything like Naka (and Chucky).

Professor Toru Tanaka wrote:

Ho Ree Crap!!

You're racist trash.

I could care less what his finish time was or how many people was in his age group. The fact that he entered the race, finished the race and finished in a time that suggest he actually ran as opposed walked. Personally, I think it is really cool to see a chest master doing something I can identify with.

Avocado's Number wrote:

Mr. Obvious wrote:

I honestly think he looks like he has slimmed down in the picture from the race.

I agee; he looks good there.

He's a fun guy -- exciting chess (although less so recently, I think), and he speaks his mind.

Yeah, his appearance is the first thing I noticed, he is definitely looking trimmer, he was quite tubby there for a while so good for him. I first remember reading about Hikaru and his brother Asuka in Chess Life over 15 years ago - cool to see the level he's reached.

well that's stupid, only 3 ppl registered and he placed second with 28:11. Get the F out here my ninja

*I'm signing up for this one next year. I really hope no LR'ers in the 40-44 range also have the same idea

The Carlsen-So gap is still the largest at the top, but it's down to 16 pts (2838 vs 2822). Previously, others would nip into the 2820s (and Caruana the 2840s), while Carlsen would be 2850 or 2870. Of course, one can easily understand Carlsen's difficulties with goals at this juncture.

Related: (Former Women's World Championne) Kosteniuk finishing the Paris Marathon last year in 4:08.

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=7808963