Arcade MateRound 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 cover

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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.

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.
21.Bxf6
Triple attack
The bishop takes and uncovers the rook. The queen, a rook and a bishop are attacked at once.
21...Qxf2+!!
The queen sacrifice
A queen for a pawn, with check. It is the only winning move.
26...f6!
The quiet move
No check this time. The pawn guards the knight and threatens 27...Rh6 mate.
28...Bc8!!
Krasenkow resigns
White has 39 legal moves. All of them lose to a forced mate, and nine allow mate in one.

Questions

Who won Krasenkow vs Nakamura, 2007?

Hikaru Nakamura won with the black pieces. White resigned, facing a forced mate, on move 28.

Why is it called Casino Royale?

Because it was played at the Casino de Barcelona tournament in October 2007, and it ends with a queen sacrifice and a king hunt. Chess fans know it as "Casino Royale", after the casino and the James Bond title.

What was the key move of Casino Royale?

21...Qxf2+: Nakamura gives his queen for a pawn, with check, and it is the only winning move. Five checks drag the white king from g1 to h5, and after 28...Bc8 all 39 of White's legal moves lose to a forced mate.

Is Casino Royale Hikaru Nakamura's best game?

It was his own pick at the time: ChessBase reported in January 2008 that he called it the best game he had ever played. In 2022 he gave that title to his 2010 win over Gelfand. He was 19 when he played it, not 20 as one popular video says.

How long was Krasenkow vs Nakamura, 2007, and what opening was played?

28 moves. The opening was the English Opening, Agincourt Defense (A14). Played: Casino de Barcelona tournament, round 2, Barcelona, Spain, 19 October 2007.

Command list

Krasenkow vs Nakamura · 28 moves · 0-1

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1.Nf3Nf6
2.c4e6
3.g3d5
4.Bg2Be7
5.O-OO-O
6.b3a5
7.Nc3c6
8.d4Nbd7
9.Qc2b6
10.e4Ba6
11.Nd2c5
12.exd5cxd4
13.Nb5exd5
14.Nxd4Rc8
15.Re1b5
16.Bb2Re8
17.Qd1bxc4
18.bxc4Qb6!
19.Rb1dxc4
20.Nc6?Rxc6
21.Bxf6Qxf2+!!
22.Kxf2Bc5+
23.Kf3Rxf6+
24.Kg4Ne5+
25.Kg5Rg6+
26.Kh5f6!
27.Rxe5Rxe5+
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

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.

Hikaru's Casino Royale

The story

Key moments

20.Nc6?

21.Bxf6

21...Qxf2+!!

26...f6!

28...Bc8!!

Questions

Command list

What we checked

Credits

Sources

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