'Old world mentality': Hikaru Nakamura reveals preparation styles that he considers 'nonsense'

American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura believes that studying chess for 10 hours has now become an outdated concept and players need to focus on working smarter rather than harder.

“I think studying 10 hours a day is nonsense,” Nakamura said in a recent interview with the Indian Express. “Someone who spends four hours a day, potentially, if they’re focusing on the right things, can be much more efficient.”

The 38-year-old also said that over-emphasis on preparing openings is also getting outdated.

“I think this focus on opening preparation, for example, is also a little outdated. Not completely, because it’s a very important part of the game. But because of how strong computers have become,” the American Grandmaster said. “I think there’s an overemphasis on that as well, versus say the middle game or the endgame. Probably the biggest strength that Magnus Carlsen has.”

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Nakamura focuses on Candidates

Nakamura is among the eight players who have qualified for the 2026 Candidates and the American has his eyes in winning the event which will help him become the challenger to D Gukesh’s world title. However, Nakamura recently became a parent and is also a content creator. The second ranked player in the world will have to juggle between the three but he has earlier experience of doing this as well.

“I will probably dedicate most of my time to that (the Candidates bid). As much as I can, outside of, of course, being a parent for the first time. As far as streaming goes, I already don’t stream as much as I used to. So, it’s not that I’m going to stop streaming. There will be no change there.

“Generally, there is no difference between now and when I played in the Candidates in 2022 or 2024. With the exception of being a parent. It’is about being very focused and using my time in a manner that makes the most sense,” Nakamura said.

Nakamura also considers himself more of a content creator now than a chess player.

“I consider myself a content creator first. I pretty consistently make YouTube videos almost every day these days, whereas I don’t stream every day. My income or my living is derived from content creation. It pays much better than professional chess. I don’t foresee that changing anytime soon, so that’s how it’s going to be from here on,” he said.