Grand master Hikaru challenges Obama to chess match on Twitch
Flickr/Instagram/TwitchChess GM Hikaru Nakamura has issued a challenge to former US President Barack Obama to play a match on Twitch after the success of Alexandria ‘AOC’ Ocasio-Cortez’s Among Us stream.
Like many, Hikaru, who recently became a member of the esports organization TSM, was watching AOC’s legendary Twitch stream on October 20 where the congresswoman competed against Imane ‘Pokimane’ Anys and Ben ‘DrLupo’ Lupo.
Over 420,000 people tuned in to watch the groundbreaking broadcast, prompting Hikaru to take to Twitter in an effort to get in on the sensation of politicians playing games on Twitch.
“Hey Barack Obama – I see AOC on Twitch tonight doing a promotion for voting and playing Among Us with some huge streamers,” the chess GM began, tagging both Obama and Cortez. “Any chance you’d be interested in a chess match to raise funds for the Joe Biden Victory Fund and Act Blue?”
Hey @BarackObama – I see @aoc on twitch tonight doing a promotion for voting and playing Among Us with some huge streamers. Any chance you'd be interested in a chess match to raise funds for the @joebiden Victory Fund and @actblue? Let me know, my dms are open!
— Hikaru Nakamura (@GMHikaru) October 21, 2020
The response to Hikaru’s challenge was mixed by his own followers, with some wondering why the streamer would engage in politics.
“How the f*** do I follow you for chess and I see politics?” one concerned user asked. “I’m surprised as well,” another replied in response.
However, not everyone was down on the challenge. Many of Hikaru’s followers were open to the idea and quote-tweeted the chess GM to encourage the match.
TSM“Nakamura challenging Obama to a chess game? Wow, this election is getting truly exciting,” one follower wrote with glee.
So far, however, the forty-forth president has yet to reply to Hikaru’s challenge publicly. It is possible that Obama decided to simply slide into Hikaru’s DMs to organize the match, so we should wait and see how this unfolds.
If the battle between Hikaru and Obama does end up taking place, it will be super interesting to see what kind of numbers it would pull on the platform, especially given the recent success of AOC’s stream.