TSM's Hikaru challenges former US President Barack Obama to chess match

Following a resounding first stream on Twitch by US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, reaching 439,000 peak viewership, making it one of the biggest streams in the history of the platform, other content creators are looking to capitalise on this intersection between gaming and politics.

One of them is chess Grandmaster and recently signed TSM member, Hikaru Nakamura, who decided to issue a challenge to former US President Barack Obama in order to help Joe Biden's Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee for the Democratic candidate searching to overtake Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential elections.

Hey @BarackObama - I see @aoc on twitch tonight doing a promotion for voting and playing Among Us with some huge streamers. Any chance you'd be interested in a chess match to raise funds for the @joebiden Victory Fund and @actblue? Let me know, my dms are open!

— Hikaru Nakamura (@GMHikaru) October 21, 2020

"Hey Barack Obama - I see AOC on twitch tonight doing a promotion for voting and playing Among Us with some huge streamers. Any chance you'd be interested in a chess match to raise funds for the Joe Biden Victory Fund and act blue? Let me know, my dms are open," the 32-year-old tweeted out.

(Photo: TSM/Barack Obama)

GM Hikaru has been the spearhead of a chess renaissance happening on Twitch as the ancient game has found a whole new audience of players. Hikaru as a Grandmaster and captivating personality has found his natural place teaching others streamers, like xQc, the art of the sport.

This has led to Twitch itself to create chess tournaments with several Twitch Rivals Chess Showdowns happening in the past few months, crowning content creators like MoistCr1tikal and Hafu as Chess champions among the streaming community.

• Read more: Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA and GZA to face-off against Chess Grandmaster Maurice Ashley on Twitch

While we're sure former President Barack Obama has the brains to be talented at chess, being able to go toe-to-toe with one of the greatest the world has ever seen is a tall order to ask.

Will he accept the challenge? We'll keep you posted on more info as the story develops.