16 year old FM Rose Atwell takes Hikaru Nakamura’s scalp in Freestyle chess [Updated]

Rose Atwell says, “Now I’m in Florida! I’m here for 2 tournaments: the Space Coast Open and SuperNationals. Space Coast starts tonight.” (See Space Coast here and SuperNationals here) But she does not waste her time waiting for the events to start. Tonight, Rose Atwell entered Chess.com’s Freestyle Friday… and defeated the top US player Hikaru Nakamura!

Rose Atwell says, “I beat Hikaru Nakamura in round 1 and then was asked to join a Zoom meeting for a fair play check.” No need for fair play checks, Rose Atwell is the future of US chess!

Rose Atwell sets her standards high and says, ” I really hope that I can be a part of the [Olympic] team in 2 years for the Chess Olympiad 2026.” Read the full interview with Rose Atwell here.

Rose Atwell was the wild card at last year’s US Chess Championship. More: 2024 US Chess Championship / 2024 US Women Chess Championship / US Chess Championship live / US Women Chess Championship live Follow: Rose Atwell on Twitter/X

Update: Rose Atwell just won her round 1 game of the Space Coast Open

Rose Atwell @atwell_rose is the future of US chess! Tonight she defeated @GMHikaru in a #freestylechess tournament 🔥🔥🔥https://t.co/PE3bvad902

— Chessdom (@chessdom) May 2, 2025

Now I'm in Florida! I'm here for 2 tournaments: the Space Coast Open and SuperNationals. Space Coast starts tonight. I just played in Freestyle Friday on @chesscom as a warm-up. I beat @GMHikaru in round 1 and then was asked to join a Zoom meeting for a fair play check. 😃 pic.twitter.com/VM4B47y5b3

— Rose Atwell (@atwell_rose) May 2, 2025

I just played an expert in round 1 of the Space Coast Open. I was black, and I won. I was much better in the early middlegame. The position was rather sharp, and later I made a blunder in time trouble. Fortunately (for me), he was also low on time, and returned the favor. 🙂 pic.twitter.com/nSDrbBjB9E

— Rose Atwell (@atwell_rose) May 3, 2025