Chess Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura heading to Manila in June

Chess Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura is coming to the Philippines in June for the debut of the WR Bughouse Championship.

The National Chess Federation of the Philippines announced that the country will host the inaugural WR Bughouse Championship, set to take place from June 1 to 2.

Per NFCP, Bughouse—also known as transfer chess—is a fast-paced game played by two pairs on separate boards, where captured pieces are passed to a partner for immediate use.

The event will feature Nakamura, alongside WR Chess founder Wadim Rosenstein.

Teams will compete over two days. On Day 1, they will play a 12-game stage. The top eight teams will then advance to the knockout stage on Day 2, where matches will be decided through short, high-intensity battles.

Excited to go to Manila! 🇵🇭🇵🇭 https://t.co/WyVLGVTcIW

— Hikaru Nakamura (@GMHikaru) May 4, 2026

The prize fund is set at $100,000 (or ~P6.1 million), with a $50,000 (around P3 million) prize for first place.

The tournament will be open to up to 100 teams, with a $20 (~P1,150) registration fee per team. Entry will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

Per Rosenstein, the event will follow several rules: no checkmate is allowed using dropped pieces, and a unique promotion rule applies where a promoted pawn lets a player take any piece from the partner’s opponent’s board. Captured pieces are also transferred between partners, and the game will follow a fast-paced 5+0 time control format.

Apart from Nakamura, Eugene Torre, Asia’s first Grandmaster, will also attend the event.

Nakamura earned his grandmaster title in 2003 at age 15. He is a five-time US chess champion and is currently ranked No. 2 as of May 2026.