Hikaru Renews With Chess.com
By Cameron W. · Thu, 12 Nov 2026
Hikaru Nakamura has renewed with Chess.com on a long-term deal that includes World Championship commentary and a planned 2027 Hikaru vs. The World match.
Some partnerships in chess feel less like contracts and more like furniture. Hikaru Nakamura and Chess.com have been together since 2013, and on November 10 the company announced they are staying that way, with a new long-term agreement that arrives just as the biggest match of the year gets close.
What was announced
The details are thin on the money side. Chess.com has not said how long long-term is, what the deal is worth or whether it is exclusive. What it did spell out is the work. Nakamura will join the Chess.com commentary team for key games at the Salesforce FIDE World Championship, which opens in Geneva on November 24 at 15:00 CET with Gukesh D defending against Javokhir Sindarov. For the rest of the games he will comment on his own Kick channel, where he plans to cover every day of the match. A Hikaru vs. The World event is also planned for 2027, though no format, date or venue has been given.
A long shared history
Chess.com's announcement leans on the back catalogue. It lists five Speed Chess Championship titles in a row from 2018 to 2022, four Bullet Chess Championship wins including a 17-15 final over Magnus Carlsen in 2023, a record 94 Titled Tuesday wins in the 11-round era, and a role in the very first PogChamps as coach and commentator. It also points to a social media following of 8.6 million and a record Chess.com blitz rating of 3503. Away from the platform, it notes that he has won five U.S. Championships, the 2022 Fischer Random World Championship and the 2023 Norway Chess title, and that he played in his fourth Candidates Tournament this year. Those figures come from Chess.com itself, which also happens to be the other party to the deal.
Chief Chess Officer Danny Rensch said the company is "thrilled for this next chapter." Nakamura described the whole run as an amazing ride.
The timing is the story
The renewal lands at a useful moment for both sides. The World Championship match is where chess audiences peak, and Nakamura's voice on it has real pull. Chess.com has already run his prediction for the match, in which he says he finds it hard to see Sindarov not winning and does not expect a close contest. A mid-match presence on Kick and on Chess.com's own commentary gives the platform a high-profile face for the two-week stretch when everyone is watching.
What is not in the announcement
It does not mention the Champions Chess Tour, the Chess.com Open or the Esports World Cup, so nothing in it says how those events figure in the new deal. It also does not say anything about where else Nakamura will appear. He is not among the 24 players in the Total Chess pilot in Budapest, a separate project from Chess.com's own tour.
What to watch
Terms aside, the first test comes in Geneva. How much of the match Nakamura commentates on Chess.com's channels, how much is saved for Kick, and how the 2027 event takes shape will show what this renewal really changes in practice.
