Chess legends Hikaru Nakamura and Magnus Carlsen took some brutal shots at GothamChess during a lie detector test at the Esports World Cup.
Levy ‘GothamChess’ Rozman has become one of the biggest personalities in chess, helping introduce the game to a new audience through his hugely successful YouTube channel.
However, his fellow chess stars have mixed feelings about his success, as they revealed while hooked up to a lie detector in Paris.
Hikaru admits to being “jealous” of GothamChess
When asked whether he was jealous of any other chess players, Hikaru answered “yes” before naming GothamChess.
“I’ll just say I’m a little bit jealous in some ways of Levy, GothamChess,” he admitted.
Stev Bonhage/FIDEMagnus immediately began to object with, “He’s not a…” before stopping himself from finishing the sentence, seemingly about to say “grandmaster.”
As those in the room began laughing, Carlsen added: “That’s the content.”
Carlsen then made it clear that there was no genuine hostility between him and GothamChess, adding: “I actually like him a lot.”
Hikaru caught lying about GothamChess becoming a GM
Later in the test, Hikaru asked Magnus whether it annoyed him that Rozman constantly used him for YouTube content.
“Yeah. Yes, it does,” Carlsen answered, with the lie detector indicating that he was telling the truth.
Magnus then asked Hikaru if he believed GothamChess would ever achieve his long-running goal of becoming a Grandmaster.
“Yes,” Nakamura replied. However, the examiner said the response produced “quite a big no.”
Hikaru admitted he was attempting to fool the test, explaining: “I’m trying to trick you. I can’t just answer honestly to everything.”
The exchange came as GothamChess worked as a commentator at the 2026 Esports World Cup, where Carlsen and Nakamura were among the favorites to reach the final.
Despite the prospect of another showdown between the rivals, Hikaru was eliminated 2-0 by Denis Lazavik in the semifinals. Magnus booked his place in the Grand Final by defeating Alireza Firouzja 3-0.
Rozman’s success reflects the wider online chess boom. YouTube revealed that chess videos received more than four billion views in 2023 alone. He also published a book, ‘How to Win at Chess,’ which ended up being “banned” from the Speed Chess Championship.
I’m Abhishek Sharma, an author at TigerJek.com. I enjoy exploring games, testing different strategies, and turning what I learn into clear, useful guides. My goal is to help players understand the game better and improve without the usual confusion.
