[imagefield_assist|fid=17311|preset=fullsize|lightbox=true|title=Hikaru Nakamura last battled Magnus Carlsen at the Sinquefield Cup in Saint Louis. Levon Aronian observes.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=846|height=630]
By Mike Wilmering
This article was originally published on stlpublicradio.org on February 6.
He came close this time. The great white whale was in his sights. His elbow was cocked, and in his hand the harpoon was ready to deliver the fatal blow. And then it all disappeared.
Over the weekend, St. Louisan and U.S. No. 1 Hikaru Nakamura let slip his first-ever victory against the reigning World Champion, Magnus Carlsen.
Nakamura quickly went from a winning position to completely lost in round three of the recently concluded Zurich Chess Challenge 2014. (Click here to see a full report and analysis of the game.)
In the 23 classical games the two have played against one another, Nakamura has never beaten Carlsen, losing eight times and drawing 15. This was, almost certainly, the closest Nakamura has come to scoring that elusive first victory against the No. 1 player in the world.
Click here to read the full article at news.stlpublicradio.org!
