Hikaru began his chess career at age 7 coached by his stepfather, FIDE Master Sunil Weeramantry. At the age of 10 he earned the title of USCF Chess Master, making him the youngest to do so and just a few years later in 2003, at age 15 years and 79 days, Hikaru became a FIDE Grand Master, beating Bobby Fischer’s record by 3 months. He's a 5 time USA Chess Champion - 2005, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2019. In October of 2015, he became the 2nd highest rated player in the world with a rating of 2816. Hikaru roared back to classical prominence in 2022 winning the prestigious FIDE Grand Prix event, winning him a spot in the 2022 Candidates.

Long considered one of the strongest speed chess players he’s won five chess.com Speed Chess Championships in a row including 2022 where he defeated Magnus Carlsen in the finals. Currently number 5 on the FIDE Classical list, Hikaru has soared back to the heights of chess despite being a full time content creator.

Nowadays you can frequently find him streaming live on kick.com/gmhikaru or twitch.tv/gmhikaru, where he is playing elite players, odds games with subscribers, giving lessons to prominent streamers, or just goofing around with his viewers. You can also find him on youtube.com/gmhikaru where you can find his recaps of over the board games as well as his many blitz, rapid and classical tournaments and other entertaining chess content.