“Funniest way to troll Kramnik” - GMHikaru goes on 43 win-streak following Vladimir Kramnik's cheating accusations, fans react

The ongoing chess saga involving Grandmaster and Twitch streamer Hikaru "GMHikaru" and former World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik has taken a new turn. For those unaware, Kramnik recently posted (on his Chess.com profile) hinting that Hikaru may be using unfair methods during online games.

On November 21, Kramnik pointed out that Hikaru achieved an impressive 45.5/46 match winning streak. Kramnik found this particularly "interesting" because the opponents Hikaru defeated during this streak were rated 2900 and above on Chess.com, making it an unusual feat.

In a seemingly playful response to the chess icon, Hikaru has embarked on another winning rampage, securing victory in 43 consecutive Blitz matches. Reacting to the record, one X user said:

"This is absolutely the funniest way to troll Kramnik."

Community reacts to Hikaru seemingly trolling Vladimir Kramnik (Image via X/@ChessProblem)

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Did GMHikaru cheat during his online games?

Despite past cheating scandals in the chess world, GMHikaru recently presented evidence in a video indicating that the opponents he was defeating actually had an average rating of around 2400 in reality.

Put simply, the misconception that Hikaru was consistently beating opponents with 2900 ratings was incorrect. This is because Chess.com often inflates ratings. For example, Hikaru, with a real-life ELO rating of around 2780, has over 3300 rating points on the website.

Indeed, in his recent 43-game winning streak, Hikaru defeated players who were actually FIDE Masters (FM) or International Masters (IM). Those familiar with chess would recognize that a Grandmaster, like Hikaru, would typically have a high likelihood of winning against opponents at that level.

Hikaru goes on a winning streak on Blitz (Image via Chess.com)

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Chess community reacts

GMHikaru is clearly one of the most popular faces within both the chess and Twitch communities. Seeing his subtle but comical response to Kramnik garnered a host of reactions. Here are some of the notable ones:

Fans react to Hikaru's 43-match winning streak (Image via X/@GothamChess)

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GMHikaru is often regarded as the joint best player (along with Magnus Carlsen) when it comes to the shorter format of the game. Keeping this in mind, the possibility of him cheating online appears slim.

Nonetheless, Vladimir Kramnik had his suspicions. In fact, he made a similar accusation against another Grandmaster and streamer, Hans Niemann, after the latter defeated him on Chess.com.