New Delhi: World number two Hikaru Nakamura has made it clear that he has no interest in watching Netflix’s latest documentary about the controversial rivalry between the sexes. Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann, although the film sparked new controversy in the chess community.Nakamura, speaking after a recent match at the FIDE Candidates Tournament, admitted that he had not followed the documentary or the online reaction to it.
“Well, I mean, I don’t know because I haven’t watched it. And haven’t been on social media, so I don’t know. I mean, I will say what I said on the live stream yesterday after the game, and this is what I heard, they didn’t really go into the behind-the-scenes of everything that happened leading up to the game, which is very disappointing,” he told ChessBase India. The documentary “Untold: Chess Companions” looks back at the infamous 2022 Sinquefield Cup match when Niemann defeated Carlsen, sparking one of the biggest controversies in modern chess. Carlsen’s withdrawal from the tournament and public doubts about Niemann’s performance led to widespread speculation and division of opinion in the chess community.Nakamura felt that the film might fall short by not fully exploring the context of the events.“Because without that, I think people lack the proper context. But I have no intention of watching it. There’s a saying, I know it’s slightly different, so it’s paraphrasing, but they say you should never sleep at work or something like that,” he added.To make his position clearer, he said: “There are more artifacts that they use specifically. But I would say that basically I spend enough time on chess. I’m not going to spend my free time looking at more chess. That doesn’t have any interest for me.”Also read: Is the Magnus Carlsen vs. Hans Niemann documentary “Unknown: Chess Partners” worth watching?Niemann, meanwhile, used the documentary to send a strong message about his ambitions, declaring: “I’m going to be a ruthless killer. I’m going to be the best player in the world.”
