World number-two GM Hikaru Nakamura and his wife WGM Atousa Pourkashiyan welcomed the birth of a healthy baby boy last week, the couple has confirmed.
Nakamura, who first revealed that they were expecting during a Kick livestream in July, shared the birth in the title of a video recap after his game against World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju in the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League, which began on Sunday.
He shared further details in a post on X: “A couple of days ago, my wife Atousa gave birth to our baby boy,” Nakamura wrote. “While there is so much of my life that I share on social media, there are parts that I also keep private.”
He went on to praise his wife, calling her “the heroine of this story,” adding, “We are blessed with a healthy baby boy.”
A couple of days ago, my wife Atousa gave birth to our baby boy. While there is so much of my life that I share on social media, there are parts that I also keep private.
I would like to take this moment to talk about the heroine of this story, my beloved wife. To see her carry…
— Hikaru Nakamura (@GMHikaru) December 14, 2025
A mysterious tweet may have hinted at the baby’s birth weight.
It’s all 6-7, right?
— Hikaru Nakamura (@GMHikaru) December 11, 2025
Nakamura, who also turned 38 last week, is a five-time U.S. champion who has been among the world’s top-ranked players for more than a decade. He is currently ranked the world number-two, a position he first achieved in October 2015.
He recently qualified for the Candidates Tournament for the fourth time, making what could become his last attempt at qualifying for a prestigious World Championship match.
37-year-old Pourkashiyan is a seven-time Iranian Women’s Champion and Asian Women’s Chess Champion, and in 2024 became the American Continental Women’s Champion. She previously transferred to the U.S. Chess Federation in 2022 after emigrating from Iran.
Only two months ago, while seven months pregnant, she made headlines by defeating reigning U.S. Women’s Champion IM Carissa Yip in the 2025 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship in St. Louis.
Atousa Pourkashiyan – playing in her seventh month of pregnancy – defeated the reigning U.S. Women’s Champion Carissa Yip in Round 1 of the U.S. Chess Championship! 👏#uschesschamps pic.twitter.com/qwpDe8ingv
— Saint Louis Chess Club (@STLChessClub) October 12, 2025
The news of a “mini Hikaru” comes barely two months after world number-one Magnus Carlsen and his wife, Ella Victoria Carlsen, welcomed their first child, also a boy, on September 27.
Ella Victoria joined in congratulating the couple, while Pourkashiyan also appreciated her husband’s post.
With the world’s two highest-rated players now navigating fatherhood simultaneously, fans have already begun jokingly speculating about a future rivalry between “Hikaru Jr.” and “Magnus Jr.” circa 2040.
