‘Would be fun to finally meet Samay Raina! He is a big superstar!’: Chess World No. 3 Hikaru Nakamura
Hikaru Nakamura revealed that he would be visiting India later this year for the FIDE World Cup, and also stated that he would get to meet Samay Raina.
Hikaru Nakamura is no stranger to controversy. From accusing Hans Niemann of cheating to his allegations on his live streams, the World No. 3 is known to express his outspoken personality. But this time it wasn’t really his fault, as he probably didn’t know about Samay Raina’s recent controversy while making a comment on the Indian comedian.
Raina is well-known among chess fans for his ‘OP’ phrase word, and promoted the sport through his online shows during the Covid-19 pandemic. He is also credited by many to have played a key role in the rise in popularity of chess.
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Currently, Raina is under the spotlight for the wrong reasons, after a controversial YouTube video. The incident happened on his show India’s Got Latent, where one of his guests Ranveer Allahbadia made a bizarre incestuous abuse-laden remark. Since then, all India’s Got Latent episodes have been taken down, and at least two FIRs have been failed against Raina and the guests on his episodes, including Allahbadia.
Hikaru Nakamura unknowingly joins Samay Raina-Ranveer Allahbadia controversy
It was evident during the recent Weissenhaus Freestyle Chess Grand Slam event that Nakamura didn’t know about Raina’s controversy, and unknowingly expressed his desire to meet him. Speaking to ChessBase India, he revealed that he would be visiting India later this year for the FIDE World Cup, and also stated that he would get to meet Raina.
“It would be fun to finally meet Samay! I think I haven’t met him yet. I know he’s in the US and he’s done some stuff (performing in stand up shows in the USA and UK). It would be a lot of fun (to meet Samay)”, he said.
“It’s wild to see — obviously I don’t follow Indian culture super closely — but at the start of the pandemic he was kind of a comedian, kind of known. And now he’s like a big superstar! Everywhere! It’s definitely amazing to see what he’s done with comedy and chess. Hopefully I will have a chance to meet him,” he added.
The Weissenhaus Grand Slam event also saw D Gukesh in action, but the reigning world champion had a winless run, and finished in eight position.
