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EpisodesRound 05

Hikaru's Casino Royale

Hikaru, 19, gives his queen away first. Five checks in a row drag the king from g1 to h5.

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Hikaru's Casino Royale: the video's coverPress start

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Michał KrasenkowK.O. · material 23/39
Hikaru NakamuraWins · material 21/39
White
Michał KrasenkowGrandmaster from Poland, rated 2668. Age 43.
Black
Hikaru NakamuraGrandmaster from the USA, rated 2648. Age 19.
Event
Casino de Barcelona tournament, round 2
Place
Barcelona, Spain
Date
19 October 2007
Opening
English Opening, Agincourt Defense (A14)
Result
0-1White resigned, facing a forced mate, 28 moves
Video
2:18Published 10 November 2026

The story

Barcelona, 19 October 2007. In round 2 of the Casino de Barcelona tournament, Hikaru Nakamura, 19 years old and rated 2648, has Black against Michał Krasenkow, a Polish grandmaster of 43 rated 2668, a former world number 10 with a shelf of best-game prizes.

On move 18 the black queen goes to b6. From there it looks down a diagonal at f2, next to the white king. Only the white knight on d4 stands in the way.

Krasenkow has an idea of his own. 20.Nc6 offers that knight, and after Nakamura takes it, 21.Bxf6 uncovers a rook on the black queen. Three black pieces are attacked at once. It looks crushing.

But the knight has left d4. 21...Qxf2+ gives the queen for a pawn, with check, and it is the only move that wins.

Five checks in a row drag the white king up the board, from g1 to h5. Then comes a quiet move, 26...f6, which threatens mate on h6. Krasenkow gives a rook back to stop it. After 28...Bc8 he has 39 legal moves, and every one of them loses to a forced mate. He resigned.

Nakamura won the tournament with 7 points from 9. A few weeks later he called this the best game he had ever played. Chess fans know it as "Casino Royale".

Key moments

Frames from the video, one for each turning point.

  1. 20.Nc6 in the video: krasenkow's knight sacrifice

    20.Nc6?

    Krasenkow's knight sacrifice

    The knight leaves d4 to open lines against the queen. It was the only piece blocking her road to f2.

  2. 21.Bxf6 in the video: triple attack

    21.Bxf6

    Triple attack

    The bishop takes and uncovers the rook. The queen, a rook and a bishop are attacked at once.

  3. 21...Qxf2+ in the video: the queen sacrifice

    21...Qxf2+!!

    The queen sacrifice

    A queen for a pawn, with check. It is the only winning move.

  4. 26...f6 in the video: the quiet move

    26...f6!

    The quiet move

    No check this time. The pawn guards the knight and threatens 27...Rh6 mate.

  5. 28...Bc8 in the video: krasenkow resigns

    28...Bc8!!

    Krasenkow resigns

    White has 39 legal moves. All of them lose to a forced mate, and nine allow mate in one.

Command list

Krasenkow vs Nakamura · 56 plies · 0-1

Download
  1. 1.Nf3Nf6
  2. 2.c4e6
  3. 3.g3d5
  4. 4.Bg2Be7
  5. 5.O-OO-O
  6. 6.b3a5
  7. 7.Nc3c6
  8. 8.d4Nbd7
  9. 9.Qc2b6
  10. 10.e4Ba6
  11. 11.Nd2c5
  12. 12.exd5cxd4
  13. 13.Nb5exd5
  14. 14.Nxd4Rc8
  15. 15.Re1b5
  16. 16.Bb2Re8
  17. 17.Qd1bxc4
  18. 18.bxc4Qb6!
  19. 19.Rb1dxc4
  20. 20.Nc6?Rxc6
  21. 21.Bxf6Qxf2+!!
  22. 22.Kxf2Bc5+
  23. 23.Kf3Rxf6+
  24. 24.Kg4Ne5+
  25. 25.Kg5Rg6+
  26. 26.Kh5f6!
  27. 27.Rxe5Rxe5+
  28. 28.Kh4Bc8!!
The PGN file
[Event "Casino de Barcelona"]
[Site "Barcelona ESP"]
[Date "2007.10.19"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Krasenkow, Michal"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2668"]
[BlackElo "2648"]
[ECO "A14"]
[Source "Mark Weeks, about.com chess (2007, aa07k17); agadmator's description (chessgames.com 'Casino Royale'); identical"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. b3 a5 7. Nc3 c6 8. d4 Nbd7
9. Qc2 b6 10. e4 Ba6 11. Nd2 c5 12. exd5 cxd4 13. Nb5 exd5 14. Nxd4 Rc8 15. Re1 b5
16. Bb2 Re8 17. Qd1 bxc4 18. bxc4 Qb6 19. Rb1 dxc4 20. Nc6 Rxc6 21. Bxf6 Qxf2+
22. Kxf2 Bc5+ 23. Kf3 Rxf6+ 24. Kg4 Ne5+ 25. Kg5 Rg6+ 26. Kh5 f6 27. Rxe5 Rxe5+
28. Kh4 Bc8 0-1

Behind the edit

What it took to turn 56 plies into 2:18 of video. Counted from the finished edit.

Effects
642
Kinds of effect
82
Sound cues
92
Moves, each with its own light
56
Seconds of video
138

What we checked

Every caption in the video was checked against the sources. Some well-known stories did not survive.

  • It is Hikaru's best game.

    It was his own pick at the time: ChessBase reported on 1 January 2008 that he called it the best game he had ever played. In 2022 he gave that title to his win over Gelfand from 2010. The video says "Hikaru's best game" for the 2008 pick, and does not quote him.

  • The queen sacrifice was the only winning move.

    Checked with the engine: it is. After any other 21st move White is better. The same engine shows that 20.Nc6 was the mistake: 20.Bc3 kept the game level.

  • Every move loses.

    After 28...Bc8, all 39 of White's legal moves were checked one by one: each loses to a forced mate. Nine allow mate in one, and the longest defence, 29.Bd5+, lasts six moves. The threat was 29...Rh6+ 30.Qh5 Rexh5 mate.

  • Hikaru was 20.

    A well-known video of the game says so. He was born on 9 December 1987, so he was 19 when it was played.

Credits

  • Photos: Hikaru Nakamura by Giordano Macellari (CC BY-SA 4.0), cropped and cut out, via Wikimedia Commons. Michał Krasenkow by Przemysław Jahr (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.
  • Music and voices: original.

Sources

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