title: Parvati

text: The apparent contradiction that Parvati is addressed as the golden one, Gauri, as well as the dark one, Kali or Shyama, as a calm and placid wife Parvati mentioned as Gauri and as a goddess who destroys evil she is Kali. Regional stories of Gauri suggest an alternate origin for Gauri's name and complexion. In parts of India, Gauri's skin color is golden or yellow in honor of her being the goddess of ripened corn/harvest and fertility.


title: Parvati

text: The word Parvati does not explicitly appear in Vedic literature. Instead, Ambika, Rudrani and others are found in the "Rigveda". The verse 3.12 of the "Kena Upanishad" dated to mid-1st millennium BCE contains a goddess called Uma-Haimavati, a very common alternate name for Parvati. Sayana's commentary in "Anuvaka", however, identifies Parvati in the "Kena Upanishad", suggesting her to be the same as Uma and Ambika in the Upanishad, referring to Parvati is thus an embodiment of divine knowledge and the mother of the world. She appears as the "shakti", or essential power, of the Supreme Brahman. Her primary role is as a mediator who reveals the knowledge of Brahman to the Vedic Trideva of Agni, Vayu, and Varuna, who were boasting about their recent defeat of a group of demons. But Kinsley notes: "it is little more than conjecture to identify her with the later goddess Satī-Pārvatī, although [..] later texts that extol Śiva and Pārvatī retell the episode in such a way to leave no doubt that it was Śiva's spouse.." [IAST original].


title: Parvati

text: Sati-Parvati appears in the epic period (400 BCE–400 CE), as both the "Ramayana" and the "Mahabharata" present Parvati as Shiva's wife. However, it is not until the plays of Kalidasa (5th–6th centuries) and the Puranas (4th through the 13th centuries) that the stories of Sati-Parvati and Shiva acquire more comprehensive details. Kinsley adds that Parvati may have emerged from legends of non-aryan goddesses that lived in mountains. While the word Uma appears in earlier Upanisads, Hopkins notes that the earliest known explicit use of the name Pārvatī occurs in late "Hamsa Upanishad".


title: Parvati

text: Weber suggests that just like Shiva is a combination of various Vedic gods Rudra and Agni, Parvati in Puranas text is a combination of wives of Rudra. In other words, the symbolism, legends, and characteristics of Parvati evolved fusing Uma, Haimavati, Ambika in one aspect and the more ferocious, destructive Kali, Gauri, Nirriti in another aspect. Tate suggests Parvati is a mixture of the Vedic goddesses Aditi and Nirriti, and being a mountain goddess herself, was associated with other mountain goddesses like Durga and Kali in later traditions.


title: Parvati

text: Parvati, the gentle aspect of Devi Shakti, is usually represented as fair, beautiful, and benevolent. She typically wears a red dress (often a sari), and may have a head-band. When depicted alongside Shiva she generally appears with two arms, but when alone she may be depicted having four. These hands may hold a trident, mirror, rosary, bell, dish, goad, sugarcane stalk, or flowers (such as a lotus). One of her arms in front may be in the Abhaya mudra (hand gesture for 'fear not'), one of her children, typically Ganesha, is on her knee, while her younger son Skanda may be playing near her in her watch. In ancient temples, Parvati's sculpture is often depicted near a calf or cow. Bronze has been the chief metal for her sculpture, while stone is the next most common material.


title: Parvati

text: Parvati and Shiva are often symbolized by a yoni and a linga, respectively. In ancient literature, "yoni" means "womb" and "place of gestation", the yoni-linga metaphor represents "origin, source or regenerative power". The linga-yoni icon is widespread, found in Shaivite Hindu temples of South Asia and Southeast Asia. Often called "Shivalinga", it almost always has both linga and the yoni. The icon represents the interdependence and union of feminine and masculine energies in recreation and regeneration of all life. In some depictions, Parvati and Shiva are shown in various forms of sexual union.


title: Parvati

text: In some iconography, Parvati's hands may symbolically express many mudras (symbolic hand gestures). For example, Kataka — representing fascination and enchantment, Hirana — representing the antelope, the symbolism for nature and the elusive, Tarjani by the left hand—representing the gesture of menace, and Chandrakal — representing the moon, a symbol of intelligence. Kataka is expressed by hands closer to the devotee; Tarjani mudra with the left hand, but far from the devotee.


title: Parvati

text: If Parvati is depicted with two hands, Kataka mudra—also called Katyavalambita or Katisamsthita hasta—is common, as well as Abhaya (fearlessness, fear not) and Varada (beneficence) are representational in Parvati's iconography. Parvati's right hand in Abhaya mudra symbolizes "do not fear anyone or anything", while her Varada mudra symbolizes "wish-fulfilling". In Indian dance, "Parvatimudra" is dedicated to her, symbolizing divine mother. It is a joint hand gesture, and is one of sixteen "Deva Hastas", denoting the most important deities described in "Abhinaya Darpana". The hands mimic motherly gesture, and when included in a dance, the dancer symbolically expresses Parvati. Alternatively, if both hands of the dancer are in "Ardhachandra" mudra, it symbolizes an alternate aspect of Parvati.


title: Parvati

text: Parvati is sometimes shown with golden or yellow color skin, particularly as goddess Gauri, symbolizing her as the goddess of ripened harvests.


title: Parvati

text: In some manifestations, particularly as angry, ferocious aspects of Shakti such as Kali, she has eight or ten arms, and is astride on a tiger or lion, wearing a garland of severed heads and skirt of disembodied hands. In benevolent manifestations such as Kamakshi or Meenakshi, a parrot sits near her right shoulder symbolizing cheerful love talk, seeds, and fertility. A parrot is found with Parvati's form as Kamakshi – the goddess of love, as well as "Kama" – the cupid god of desire who shoots arrows to trigger infatuation. A crescent moon is sometimes included near the head of Parvati particularly the Kamakshi icons, for her being half of Shiva. In South Indian legends, her association with the parrot began when she won a bet with her husband and asked for his loincloth as victory payment; Shiva keeps his word but first transforms her into a parrot. She flies off and takes refuge in the mountain ranges of south India, appearing as Meenakshi (also spelled Minakshi).


title: Parvati

text: Parvati is expressed in many roles, moods, epithets, and aspects. In Hindu mythology, she is an active agent of the universe, the power of Shiva. She is expressed in nurturing and benevolent aspects, as well as destructive and ferocious aspects. She is the voice of encouragement, reason, freedom, and strength, as well as of resistance, power, action and retributive justice. This paradox symbolizes her willingness to realign to "Pratima" (reality) and adapts to the needs of circumstances in her role as the universal mother. She identifies and destroys evil to protect (Mahakali), as well as creates food and abundance to nourish (Annapurna).


title: Parvati

text: From being born as a human, showing determination and perseverance in marrying Shiva (who preferred being an ascetic), to realizing with the great effort her true power and potential, awakening the Adishakti in herself, and becoming a goddess venerated by the Trimurti and the rest of the entire universe, Parvati inspires a person to embrace their human strengths and flaws, and utilize them to achieve their highest potential, to live life with their head held up high.


title: Parvati

text: Several Hindu stories present alternate aspects of Parvati, such as the ferocious, violent aspect as Shakti and related forms. Shakti is pure energy, untamed, unchecked, and chaotic. Her wrath crystallizes into a dark, blood-thirsty, tangled-hair Goddess with an open mouth and a drooping tongue. This goddess is usually identified as the terrible "Mahakali" (time). In Linga Purana, Parvati undergoes a metamorphosis into Kali, at the request of Shiva, to destroy an asura (demon) Daruk. Even after destroying the demon, Kali's wrath could not be controlled. To lower Kali's rage, Shiva appeared as a crying baby. The cries of the baby arouse the maternal instinct of Kali who reverts to her benign form as Parvati. Lord Shiva, in this baby form is Kshethra Balaka (who becomes Rudra Savarni Manu in future).


title: Parvati

text: In Skanda Purana, Parvati assumes the form of a warrior-goddess and defeats a demon called "Durg" who assumes the form of a buffalo. In this aspect, she is known by the name Durga. Although Parvati is considered another aspect of Sakti, just like Kali, Durga, Kamakshi, Meenakshi, Gauri and many others in modern-day Hinduism, many of these "forms" or aspects originated from regional legends and traditions, and the distinctions from Parvati are pertinent.


title: Parvati

text: According to Shaktism and Shaivism traditions, and also in Devi Bhagavata Purana, Parvati is the lineal progenitor of all other goddesses. She is worshiped as one with many forms and names. Her form or incarnation depends on her mood.


title: Parvati

text: The Puranas tell the tale of Sati's marriage to Shiva against her father Daksha's wishes. The conflict between Daksha and Shiva gets to a point where Daksha does not invite Shiva to his yagna (fire-sacrifice). Daksha insults Shiva when Sati comes on her own. She immolates herself at the ceremony. This shocks Shiva, who is so grief-stricken that he loses interest in worldly affairs, retires, and isolates himself in the mountains, in meditation and austerity. Sati is then reborn as Parvati, the daughter of Himavat and Mainavati, and is named Parvati, or "she from the mountains", after her father Himavant who is also called king "Parvat".


title: Parvati

text: According to different versions of her chronicles, the maiden Parvati resolves to marry Shiva. Her parents learn of her desire, discourage her, but she pursues what she wants. Indra sends the god Kama – the Hindu god of desire, erotic love, attraction, and affection, to awake Shiva from meditation. "Kama" reaches Shiva and shoots an arrow of desire. Shiva opens his third eye in his forehead and burns the cupid "Kama" to ashes. Parvati does not lose her hope or her resolve to win over Shiva. She begins to live in mountains like Shiva, engage in the same activities as Shiva, one of asceticism, yogin and tapas. This draws the attention of Shiva and awakens his interest. He meets her in disguised form, tries to discourage her, telling her Shiva's weaknesses and personality problems. Parvati refuses to listen and insists on her resolve. Shiva finally accepts her and they get married. Shiva dedicates the following hymn in Parvati's honor,


title: Parvati

text: After the marriage, Parvati moves to Mount Kailash, the residence of Shiva. To them are born Kartikeya (also known as Skanda and Murugan) – the leader of celestial armies, and Ganesha – the god of wisdom that prevents problems and removes obstacles.


title: Parvati

text: There are many alternate Hindu legends about the birth of Parvati and how she married Shiva. In the Harivamsa, for example, Parvati has two younger sisters called Ekaparna and Ekapatala. According to Devi Bhagavata Purana and Shiva Purana mount Himalaya and his wife Mena appease goddess Adi Parashakti. Pleased, Adi Parashakti herself is born as their daughter Parvati. Each major story about Parvati's birth and marriage to Shiva has regional variations, suggesting creative local adaptations. The stories go through many ups and downs until Parvati and Shiva are finally married.


title: Parvati

text: Kalidasa's epic "Kumarasambhavam" ("Birth of Kumara") describes the story of the maiden Parvati who has made up her mind to marry Shiva and get him out of his recluse, intellectual, austere world of aloofness. Her devotions aimed at gaining the favor of Shiva, the subsequent annihilation of Kamadeva, the consequent fall of the universe into barren lifelessness, regeneration of life, the subsequent marriage of Parvati and Shiva, the birth of Kartikeya, and the eventual resurrection of Kamadeva after Parvati intercedes for him to Shiva.


title: Parvati

text: Parvati's legends are intrinsically related to Shiva. In the goddess-oriented Shakta texts, that she is said to transcend even Shiva, and is identified as the Supreme Being. Just as Shiva is at once the presiding deity of destruction and regeneration, the couple jointly symbolize at once both the power of renunciation and asceticism and the blessings of marital felicity.


title: Parvati

text: Parvati thus symbolizes many different virtues esteemed by Hindu tradition: fertility, marital felicity, devotion to the spouse, asceticism, and power. Parvati represents the householder ideal in the perennial tension in Hinduism in the household ideal and the ascetic ideal, the latter represented by Shiva. Renunciation and asceticism is highly valued in Hinduism, as is householder's life – both feature as Ashramas of ethical and proper life. Shiva is portrayed in Hindu legends as the ideal ascetic withdrawn in his personal pursuit in the mountains with no interest in social life, while Parvati is portrayed as the ideal householder keen on nurturing worldly life and society. Numerous chapters, stories, and legends revolve around their mutual devotion as well as disagreements, their debates on Hindu philosophy as well as the proper life.


title: Parvati

text: Parvati tames Shiva with her presence. When Shiva does his violent, destructive Tandava dance, Parvati is described as calming him or complementing his violence by slow, creative steps of her own Lasya dance. In many myths, Parvati is not as much his complement as his rival, tricking, seducing, or luring him away from his ascetic practices.


title: Parvati

text: Three images are central to the mythology, iconography, and philosophy of Parvati: the image of Shiva-Shakti, the image of Shiva as Ardhanarishvara (the Lord who is half-woman), and the image of the linga and the yoni. These images that combine the masculine and feminine energies, Shiva and Parvati, yield a vision of reconciliation, interdependence, and harmony between the way of the ascetic and that of a householder.


title: Parvati

text: The couple is often depicted in the Puranas as engaged in "dalliance" or seated on Mount Kailash debating concepts in Hindu theology. They are also depicted as quarreling. In stories of the birth of Kartikeya, the couple is described as love-making; generating the seed of Shiva. Parvati's union with Shiva symbolizes the union of a male and female in "ecstasy and sexual bliss". In art, Parvati is depicted seated on Shiva's knee or standing beside him (together the couple is referred to as "Uma-Maheshvara" or "Hara-Gauri") or as "Annapurna" (the goddess of grain) giving alms to Shiva.


title: Parvati

text: Shaiva's approaches tend to look upon Parvati as the Shiva's submissive and obedient wife. However, Shaktas focus on Parvati's equality or even superiority to her consort. The story of the birth of the ten Mahavidyas (Wisdom Goddesses) of Shakta Tantrism. This event occurs while Shiva is living with Parvati in her father's house. Following an argument, he attempts to walk out on her. Her rage at Shiva's attempt to walk out manifests in the form of ten terrifying goddesses who block Shiva's every exit.


title: Parvati

text: Parvati is portrayed as the ideal wife, mother, and householder in Indian legends. In Indian art, this vision of the ideal couple is derived from Shiva and Parvati as being half of the other, represented as "Ardhanarisvara". This concept is represented as an androgynous image that is half man and half woman, Siva and Parvati, respectively.


title: Parvati

text: In Hindu Epic the Mahabharata, she as Umā suggests that the duties of wife and mother are as follows – being of a good disposition, endued with sweet speech, sweet conduct, and sweet features. Her husband is her friend, refuge, and god. She finds happiness in the physical, emotional nourishment and development of her husband and her children. Their happiness is her happiness. She is positive and cheerful even when her husband or her children are angry, she's with them in adversity or sickness. She takes interest in worldly affairs, beyond her husband and family. She is cheerful and humble before family, friends, and relatives; helps them if she can. She welcomes guests, feeds them, and encourages righteous social life. Her family life and her home is her heaven, Parvati declares in Book 13 of the Mahabharata.


title: Parvati

text: Rita Gross states, that the view of Parvati only as ideal wife and mother is incomplete symbolism of the power of the feminine in the mythology of India. Parvati, along with other goddesses, is involved with a broad range of culturally valued goals and activities. Her connection with motherhood and female sexuality does not confine the feminine or exhaust their significance and activities in Hindu literature. She is balanced by Durga, who is strong and capable without compromising her femaleness. She manifests in every activity, from water to mountains, from arts to inspiring warriors, from agriculture to dance. Parvati's numerous aspects state Gross, reflects the Hindu belief that the feminine has a universal range of activities, and her gender is not a limiting condition. Parvati is seen as the mother of two widely worshipped deities Ganesha and Kartikeya, as well as some other regional deities including a goddess named Ashokasundari.


title: Parvati

text: Hindu literature, including the Matsya Purana, Shiva Purana, and Skanda Purana, dedicates many stories to Parvati and Shiva and their children. For example, one about Ganesha is:


title: Parvati

text: Teej is a significant festival for Hindu women, particularly in the northern and western states of India. Parvati is the primary deity of the festival, and it ritually celebrates married life and family ties. It also celebrates the monsoon. The festival is marked with swings hung from trees, girls playing on these swings typically in a green dress (seasonal color of crop planting season), while singing regional songs. Historically, unmarried maidens prayed to Parvati for a good mate, while married women prayed for the well-being of their husbands and visited their relatives. In Nepal, Teej is a three-day festival marked with visits to Shiva-Parvati temples and offerings to linga. Teej is celebrated as Teeyan in Punjab.


title: Parvati

text: The Gowri Habba, or Gauri Festival, is celebrated on the seventh, eighth, and ninth of Bhadrapada (Shukla paksha). Parvati is worshipped as the goddess of harvest and protectress of women. Her festival, chiefly observed by women, is closely associated with the festival of her son Ganesha (Ganesh Chaturthi). The festival is popular in Maharashtra and Karnataka.


title: Parvati

text: In Rajasthan, the worship of Gauri happens during the Gangaur festival. The festival starts on the first day of Chaitra the day after Holi and continues for 18 days. Images of Issar and Gauri are made from Clay for the festival.


title: Parvati

text: Another popular festival in reverence of Parvati is Navratri, in which all her manifestations are worshiped over nine days. Popular in eastern India, particularly in Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand and Assam, as well as several other parts of India such as Gujarat, with her nine forms, that is, Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayini, Kaalratri, Mahagauri, and Siddhidatri.


title: Parvati

text: Another festival "Gauri Tritiya" is celebrated from Chaitra Shukla third to Vaishakha Shukla third. This festival is popular in Maharashtra and Karnataka, less observed in North India, and unknown in Bengal. The unwidowed women of the household erect a series of platforms in a pyramidal shape with the image of the goddess at the top and a collection of ornaments, images of other Hindu deities, pictures, shells, etc. below. Neighbors are invited and presented with turmeric, fruits, flowers, etc. as gifts. At night, prayers are held by singing and dancing. In south Indian states such as Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, the Kethara Gauri Vritham festival is celebrated on the new moon day of Diwali and married women fast for the day, prepare sweets and worship Parvati for the well-being of the family.


title: Parvati

text: Thiruvathira is a festival observed in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It is believed that on this day, Parvati met Shiva after her long penance and Shiva took


title: Parvati

text: her as his wife. On this day Hindu women perform the Thiruvathirakali accompanied by Thiruvathira paattu (folk songs about Parvati and her longing and penance for Lord Shiva's affection).


title: Parvati

text: From sculpture to dance, many Indian arts explore and express the stories of Parvati and Shiva as themes. For example, "Daksha Yagam" of Kathakali, a form of dance-drama choreography, adapts the romantic episodes of Parvati and Shiva.


title: Parvati

text: The Gauri-Shankar bead is a part of religious adornment rooted in the belief of Parvati and Shiva as the ideal equal complementing halves of the other. Gauri-Shankar is a particular "rudraksha" (bead) formed naturally from the seed of a tree found in India. Two seeds of this tree sometimes naturally grow as fused and are considered symbolic of Parvati and Shiva. These seeds are strung into garlands and worn, or used in "malas" (rosaries) for meditation in Saivism.


title: Parvati

text: Ancient coins from Bactria (Central Asia) of Kushan Empire era, and those of king Harsha (North India) feature Uma. These were issued sometime between the 3rd- and 7th-century AD. In Bactria, Uma is spelled "Ommo", and she appears on coins holding a flower. On her coin is also shown Shiva, who is sometimes shown in the ithyphallic state holding a trident and standing near Nandi (his "vahana"). On coins issued by king Harsha, Parvati and Shiva are seated on a bull and the reverse of the coin has Brahmi script.


title: Parvati

text: Some locations ("Pithas" or "Shaktipeeths") are considered special because of their historical importance and legends about their origins in the ancient texts of Hinduism.


title: Parvati

text: Each major Parvati-Shiva temple is a pilgrimage site that has an ancient legend associated with it, which is typically a part of a larger story that links these Hindu temples across South Asia with each other.


title: Parvati

text: Sculpture and iconography of Parvati, in one of her many manifestations, have been found in temples and literature of Southeast Asia. For example, early Saivite inscriptions of the Khmer in Cambodia, dated as early as the fifth century AD, mention Parvati (Uma) and Siva. Many ancient and medieval era Cambodian temples, rock arts and river bed carvings such as the Kbal Spean are dedicated to Parvati and Shiva.


title: Parvati

text: Dozens of ancient temples dedicated to Parvati as Uma, with Siva, have been found in the islands of Indonesia and Malaysia. Her manifestation as Durga has also been found in southeast Asia. Many of the temples in Java dedicated to Siva-Parvati are from the second half of 1st millennium AD, and some from later centuries. Durga icons and worship have been dated to be from the 10th- to 13th-century.


title: Parvati

text: In Nakhorn Si Thammarat province of Thailand, excavations at Dev Sathan have yielded a Hindu Temple dedicated to Vishnu (Na Pra Narai), a lingam in the "yoni", a Shiva temple (San Pra Isuan). The sculpture of Parvati found at this excavation site reflects the South Indian style.


title: Parvati

text: Parvati, locally spelled as "Parwati", is a principal goddess in modern-day Hinduism of Bali. She is more often called "Uma", and sometimes referred to as "Giriputri" (daughter of the mountains). She is the goddess of mountain Gunung Agung. Like Hinduism of India, Uma has many manifestations in Bali, Indonesia. She is the wife of deity "Siwa". Uma or Parwati is considered as the mother goddess that nurtures, nourishes, grants fertility to crop and all life. As "Dewi Danu", she presides over waters, lake Batur and Gunung Batur, a major volcano in Bali. Her ferocious form in Bali is "Dewi Durga". As "Rangda", she is wrathful and presides cemeteries. As "Ibu Pertiwi", Parwati of Balinese Hinduism is the goddess of earth. The legends about various manifestations of Parwati, and how she changes from one form to another, are in Balinese literature, such as the palm-leaf ("lontar") manuscript "Andabhuana".


title: Parvati

text: Tara found in some sects of Buddhism, particularly Tibetan and Nepalese, is related to Parvati. Tara too appears in many manifestations. In tantric sects of Buddhism, as well as Hinduism, intricate symmetrical art forms of yantra or mandala are dedicated to different aspects of Tara and Parvati.


title: Parvati

text: Parvati is closely related in symbolism and powers to Cybele of Greek and Roman mythology and as Vesta the guardian goddess of children. In her manifestation as "Durga", Parvati parallels Mater Montana. She is the equivalent of the "Magna Mater" (Universal Mother). As "Kali" and punisher of all evil, she corresponds to Proserpine and Diana Taurica.


title: Parvati

text: As "Bhawani" and goddess of fertility and birthing, she is the symbolic equivalent of Ephesian "Diana". In Crete, "Rhea" is the mythological figure, goddess of the mountains, paralleling Parvati; while in some mythologies from islands of Greece, the terrifying goddess mirroring Parvati is "Diktynna" (also called Britomartis). At Ephesus, Cybele is shown with lions, just like the iconography of Parvati is sometimes shown with a lion.


title: Parvati

text: Carl Jung, in "Mysterium Coniunctionis", states that aspects of Parvati belong to the same category of goddesses like Artemis, Isis and Mary. Edmund Leach equates Parvati in her relationship with Shiva, with that of the Greek goddess Aphrodite – a symbol of sexual love.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a series of American superhero films produced by Marvel Studios based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics. The phase began in 2016 with the release of "" and concluded in 2019 with the release of "". It includes the crossover films "", released in 2018, and its sequel "", released in 2019. Kevin Feige produced every film in the phase, alongside Amy Pascal for "" and "Spider-Man: Far From Home", and Stephen Broussard for "Ant-Man and the Wasp". The eleven films of the phase grossed over $13.5 billion at the global box office and received generally positive critical and public response. Upon release, "Avengers: Endgame" became the highest-grossing film of all time.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: Chris Evans and Tom Holland appeared the most in the phase, each starring or making cameo appearances in five of the Phase Three films. Marvel Studios also created three mockumentary short films centered on Thor, while each of the feature films received tie-in comic books. Phase Three, along with and , make up The Infinity Saga. It was followed by .


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: On October 28, 2014, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige announced the full slate of films that the studio planned to release as part of Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU): "" (2016), "Doctor Strange" (2016), "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" (2017), "" (2017), "Black Panther" (2018), "Captain Marvel" (2018), and "Inhumans" (2018), as well as "Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1" (2018) and "Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2" (2019). Feige made this announcement at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, in an event that drew comparisons to Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference. Feige explained that the studio had wanted to announce all of the titles at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con, but "things were not set" for the slate at that point, so the one-off event was used instead once all of the films could be confirmed. Marvel Studios had never done a solo event such as this before, and Feige had anticipated that it would occur in early August or mid-September before the October date was settled on.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: Following the Sony Pictures hack in 2014, it was revealed that Sony and Marvel were having conversations about potentially sharing Spider-Man. Marvel wanted to introduce a new version of Spider-Man in "Captain America: Civil War" and then continue working with the Avengers in the future, while allowing Sony to keep creative control and use him in their own potential Spider-Man movies and spin-offs, with the potential of possibly using some of Marvel's characters. On February 9, 2015, Marvel made a post on their official website announcing a deal with Sony Pictures to allow Spider-Man to appear in the MCU. In June, Tom Holland was revealed to have been cast as Peter Parker / Spider-Man, and was set to appear in "Civil War" as well as the next Sony Spider-Man film, which would go on to be "" (2017). The addition of "Homecoming" as well as "Ant-Man and the Wasp" (2018) to the Phase Three slate led to date changes for "Ragnarok" (later in 2017), "Black Panther" (2018), and "Captain Marvel" (2019). "Inhumans" was removed from the release schedule, though it was not outright canceled. In November 2016, Feige said that ""Inhumans" will happen for sure. I don't know when. I think it's happening on television. And I think as we get into Phase 4 as I've always said, it could happen as a movie." Shortly after, Marvel Television and IMAX Corporation announced the eight-episode television series "Inhumans", to be produced with ABC Studios and air on ABC; Marvel Studios decided that the characters were better suited to television, rather than trying to fit multiple potential "Inhumans" franchise films around the studio's existing film slate. The "Inhumans" series was not intended to be a reworking of the planned film.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: In July 2016, "Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1" was retitled "", while "Part 2" was left untitled until the release of the first teaser trailer on December 7, 2018, when it was revealed to be "". After the title was revealed, Feige stated that withholding it for so long had backfired on the studio due to the high expectations that fans had set for the reveal. Despite this, Feige stood by the decision due to how the reveal of "Infinity War" and "Endgame" before "" (2015) was released had taken away attention from that film. "Civil War", "Infinity War", and "Endgame" were directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. There was a large amount of collaboration between them and the other Phase Three directors and writers to make sure "everything line[d] up right" for the MCU's "culmination" in "Infinity War" and "Endgame". Peyton Reed, director of "Ant-Man" (2015) and "Ant-Man and the Wasp", felt the relationship and collaboration between the Phase Three directors was "probably the closest thing that this generation will have to a '30s- or '40s-era studio system where you are all on the lot and you are all working on different things."


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: The Avengers become fractured into two opposing teams, one led by Steve Rogers and another by Tony Stark, after extensive collateral damage prompts politicians to pass an act regulating superhuman activity with government oversight and accountability for the Avengers while also facing against a new enemy, Helmut Zemo, who seeks revenge upon the Avengers.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: By January 2014, Anthony and Joe Russo had signed on to return to direct a third "Captain America" installment, which they confirmed in March 2014, with Chris Evans returning as Captain America, Kevin Feige returning to produce, and Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely writing the screenplay. In October 2014, the title was officially announced as "Captain America: Civil War" along with the reveal that Robert Downey Jr. would appear in the film as Tony Stark / Iron Man. The film is an adaptation from the "Civil War" storyline in the comics. It is also the first film of Phase Three. Filming began in April 2015 at Pinewood Atlanta Studios, and concluded in August 2015. "Captain America: Civil War" had its premiere in Hollywood on April 12, 2016, was released internationally beginning April 27, and was released on May 6 in the United States.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: The film is set one year after the events of "" (2015). "Captain America: Civil War" introduces Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man and Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa / Black Panther to the MCU, who appear in solo films in 2017 and 2018, respectively. William Hurt reprises his role as Thaddeus Ross from "The Incredible Hulk" (2008), with the character being now the US Secretary of State. For the mid-credits scene, in which T'Challa offers Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes asylum in Wakanda, Joe and Anthony Russo received input from "Black Panther" (2018) director Ryan Coogler on the look and design of Wakanda.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: After Stephen Strange, the world's top neurosurgeon, is involved in a car accident that ruins his career, he sets out on a journey of healing, where he encounters the Ancient One, who teaches Strange the use of Mystic Arts and to defend the Earth from mystical threats.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: In June 2010, Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer were hired to write the screenplay for a film starring the character Doctor Strange. In January 2013, Feige confirmed that Doctor Strange would be a part of their Phase Three slate of films. In June 2014, Scott Derrickson was hired to direct. In December 2014, Benedict Cumberbatch was cast in the eponymous role, and Jon Spaihts was confirmed to rewrite the script. In December 2015, C. Robert Cargill revealed he was a co-writer on the film, and the following April, revealed that Derrickson also wrote the script. Pre-production began in June 2014, with filming beginning in November 2015 in Nepal, before moving to Longcross Studios in the UK later in the month. Filming concluded in New York City in April 2016. "Doctor Strange" had its premiere in Hong Kong on October 13, 2016, and was released in the United Kingdom on October 25, 2016, and on November 4 in the United States.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: Derrickson stated that the events of "Doctor Strange" take "roughly" a year, ending "up to date with the rest of the MCU", with Cargill noting it begins in February 2016 and ends later that year. "Doctor Strange" introduces the Eye of Agamotto, a mystical relic that can manipulate time and is revealed to be an Infinity Stone at the end of the film, specifically the Time Stone. The film's mid-credits scene features a cameo appearance by Chris Hemsworth reprising his MCU role of Thor, meeting with Strange, which was footage from "" (2017). The scene was directed by "Ragnarok" director Taika Waititi.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: The Guardians of the Galaxy travel throughout the cosmos and struggle to keep their newfound family together while helping Peter Quill learn more about his true parentage and facing against new enemies.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: In July 2014, "Guardians of the Galaxy" co-writer Nicole Perlman confirmed that James Gunn would return to write and direct the sequel. Chris Pratt returns for the sequel as Peter Quill / Star-Lord, along with the other Guardians from the first film as well as additional cast members. They are joined by Pom Klementieff as Mantis, and Kurt Russell as Ego. In June 2015, the film's title was revealed as "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2". Filming began in February 2016 at Pinewood Atlanta Studios, and concluded in June 2016. "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" premiered in Tokyo on April 10, 2017, and was released on May 5, 2017.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: The film is set two-to-three months after the events of "Guardians of the Galaxy", in 2014. One of the film's post-credit sequences hints at the introduction of Adam Warlock, after Gunn originally intended for Warlock to make a full appearance in "Vol. 2". He noted that Warlock could appear in future Guardians films, and is considered "a pretty important part" of the cosmic side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Grandmaster, played by Jeff Goldblum, is seen dancing in the end credits, before his appearance in "Thor: Ragnarok".


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: Peter Parker tries to balance being the hero Spider-Man with his high school life under guidance of Tony Stark as he deals with the threat of the Vulture.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: On February 9, 2015, Sony Pictures and Marvel announced that Sony would be releasing a Spider-Man film co-produced by Marvel Studios president Feige and Amy Pascal, with Sony Pictures continuing to own, finance, distribute, and have final creative control of the Spider-Man films. In April 2015, Feige confirmed the character would be Peter Parker and added that Marvel had been working to add Spider-Man to the MCU since at least October 2014, when they announced their full slate of Phase Three films, saying, "Marvel doesn't announce anything officially until it's set in stone. So we went forward with that Plan A in October, with the Plan B being, if [the deal] were to happen with Sony, how it would all shift. We've been thinking about [the Spider-Man film] as long as we've been thinking about Phase Three." In June 2015, Tom Holland was cast in the role of Spider-Man and Jon Watts was hired to direct the film, and the next month, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein were hired to write the screenplay. Additional screenwriters include Watts and Christopher Ford, and Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. In April 2016, the title was revealed to be "Spider-Man: Homecoming". Production began in June 2016 at Pinewood Atlanta Studios, and concluded in October 2016. "Spider-Man: Homecoming" premiered on June 28, 2017 in Hollywood, and was released in the United Kingdom on July 5, and the United States on July 7, 2017.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: The film is set several months after the events of "Captain America: Civil War", which is four years after the events of "The Avengers" (2012). In April 2016, Feige confirmed that characters from previous MCU films would appear in the film, with Robert Downey Jr. confirmed to reprise his role as Tony Stark / Iron Man shortly thereafter. Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Evans also reprise their roles as Happy Hogan, Pepper Potts, and Steve Rogers / Captain America, respectively. The cleanup crew Damage Control appear in the film, after previously being referenced in "Iron Man" (2008) and the television series "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.", ahead of an intended television series about them. Various weaponry and artifacts from previous films are referenced throughout the film that Toomes and his crew repurpose for their weapons. In Parker's high school, one of his classes has a lesson about the Sokovia Accords, and portraits of Bruce Banner, Howard Stark, and Abraham Erskine are seen within the school.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: Thor, trapped on another world without Mjolnir, must survive a gladiatorial duel against the Hulk and return to Asgard in time to stop the villainous Hela and the impending Ragnarök.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: In January 2014, Marvel announced that a third "Thor" film was in development, with Craig Kyle and Christopher L. Yost writing the screenplay, and was officially announced as "Thor: Ragnarok" in October 2014. By October 2015, Taika Waititi entered in negotiations to direct "Thor: Ragnarok". In December 2015, Stephany Folsom was hired to rewrite the script. A year later, in January 2017, it was revealed that Eric Pearson wrote the screenplay, with Kyle, Yost and Folsom receiving story credit. Pearson, Kyle and Yost would ultimately receive screenwriting credit for the film. Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, and Anthony Hopkins reprise their roles as Thor, Loki, Heimdall, and Odin, respectively, and are joined by Cate Blanchett as Hela. Production began in July 2016 in Australia at Village Roadshow Studios, and wrapped in late October 2016. "Thor: Ragnarok" premiered in Los Angeles on October 10, 2017, began its international release on October 24, 2017 in the United Kingdom, and was released on November 3, 2017 in the United States.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: The film is set four years after the events of "" (2013), two years after the events of "Avengers: Age of Ultron", and around the same time period as "Captain America: Civil War" and "Spider-Man: Homecoming". Producer Brad Winderbaum noted that "Things happen on top of each other now in Phase Three. They're not as interlocked as they were in Phase One." Mark Ruffalo reprises his MCU role of Bruce Banner / Hulk, with Benedict Cumberbatch also returning as Dr. Stephen Strange from "Doctor Strange". The film reveals that the Infinity Gauntlet first seen in Odin's vault in "Thor" (2011) was a fake, while also introducing Thanos' ship "Sanctuary II" in a post-credits scene.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: T'Challa returns home as sovereign of the nation of Wakanda only to find his dual role of king and protector challenged by a long-time adversary in a conflict that has global consequences.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: Documentary filmmaker Mark Bailey was hired to write a script for "Black Panther" in January 2011. In October 2014, the film was announced and Chadwick Boseman was revealed to be portraying T'Challa / Black Panther. In January 2016, Ryan Coogler was announced as director, and the following month, Joe Robert Cole was confirmed as the film's screenwriter. In April 2016, Feige confirmed that Coogler was a co-screenwriter. Filming began in January 2017 at EUE/Screen Gems Studios in Atlanta, and concluded in April 2017. "Black Panther" premiered in Los Angeles on January 29, 2018, and began its international release on February 13, 2018, and was released on February 16, 2018 in the United States. The film also had a "cross-nation release" in Africa, a first for a Disney film.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: The film is set one week after the events of "Captain America: Civil War". Florence Kasumba, Andy Serkis, Martin Freeman, and John Kani reprise their roles as Ayo, Ulysses Klaue, Everett K. Ross and T'Chaka respectively from previous MCU films. The film's post-credits scene features a cameo appearance by Sebastian Stan, reprising his role as Bucky Barnes.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: The Avengers join forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy to try to stop Thanos from collecting all of the Infinity Stones.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: The film was announced in October 2014 as "Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1". In April 2015, Marvel announced that Anthony and Joe Russo would direct the film and in May, that Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely would write the screenplay. In July 2016, Marvel revealed the title would be shortened to simply "Avengers: Infinity War". Josh Brolin reprises his role as Thanos, and is part of an ensemble cast featuring many actors who have appeared in other MCU films. Filming for "Infinity War" began in January 2017 in Atlanta, and lasted until July 2017. Additional filming also took place in Scotland. "Avengers: Infinity War" premiered in Los Angeles on April 23, 2018. It was released worldwide on April 27, 2018, with a few debuts beginning as early as April 25 in a handful of countries.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: The film is set two years after the events of "Captain America: Civil War". Marvel had been planting the seeds for "Infinity War" since their early films, by introducing the Infinity Stones as MacGuffins: the Tesseract / Space Stone in "" (2011), Loki's Scepter / Mind Stone in "The Avengers", the Aether / Reality Stone in "Thor: The Dark World", the Orb / Power Stone in "Guardians of the Galaxy", and the Eye of Agamotto / Time Stone in "Doctor Strange". Additionally, Thanos is shown holding an empty Infinity Gauntlet in "Avengers: Age of Ultron". The Red Skull from "The First Avenger" appears in the film, played by Ross Marquand instead of Hugo Weaving, and is the keeper of the final Infinity Stone, the Soul Stone. The post-credits scene features Nick Fury transmitting a distress signal on a device, which has the insignia of Captain Marvel.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: Scott Lang tries to balance his home life with his responsibilities as Ant-Man, when Hope van Dyne and Hank Pym present him with a new mission, requiring him to team up with Van Dyne as the Wasp.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: "Ant-Man and the Wasp" was announced in October 2015. Peyton Reed confirmed that he would return to direct in November 2015, and that Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly would reprise their roles as Scott Lang / Ant-Man and Hope van Dyne / Wasp, respectively. In December 2015, Andrew Barrer, Gabriel Ferrari, and Rudd were confirmed to write the screenplay, with Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers revealed to have also contributed to the script in August 2017. In February 2017, Michael Douglas confirmed he would reprise his role as Hank Pym in the film. Michelle Pfeiffer was revealed as having been cast as Janet van Dyne in July 2017. Filming began in August 2017 in Atlanta with additional filming in San Francisco, and ended in November 2017. Stephen Broussard also served as a producer on the film. "Ant-Man and the Wasp" had its premiere in Hollywood on June 25, 2018, and was released in the United States on July 6, 2018.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: The film is set two years after the events of "Captain America: Civil War" and before "Avengers: Infinity War". In the mid-credits scene, Hope van Dyne, Hank Pym, and Janet van Dyne are disintegrated as a result of the events of "Infinity War".


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: Carol Danvers becomes Captain Marvel, one of the galaxy's strongest heroes, after the Earth is caught in the center of an intergalactic conflict between two alien worlds.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: In May 2013, "The Hollywood Reporter" reported that Marvel had a working script for Ms. Marvel. In October 2014, Marvel announced the film would be titled "Captain Marvel" and feature Carol Danvers. In April 2015, Nicole Perlman and Meg LeFauve were announced as screenwriters. At the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con, Brie Larson was confirmed to play the role of Carol Danvers. In April 2017, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck were hired to direct. That August, Geneva Robertson-Dworet was revealed to be taking over as the film's screenwriter, replacing Perlman and LeFauve. Boden, Fleck, and Robertson-Dworet received final screenplay credits on the film. Location filming occurred in January 2018, while principal photography began in March in Los Angeles and concluded in July. The film was released on March 8, 2019.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: The film is set in 1995. Samuel L. Jackson, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, and Clark Gregg reprise their MCU roles as Nick Fury, Korath, Ronan the Accuser, and Phil Coulson, respectively, while the Skrull species are introduced to the MCU. The Russo brothers filmed the mid-credits scene, which was footage supposed to occur offscreen before the first scenes of "" (2019), and features Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff, Don Cheadle as James Rhodes, and Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner. The post-credits scene shows Goose regurgitating the Tesseract on Fury's desk after swallowing it during the film's third act.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: After half of all life in the universe was killed due to the actions of Thanos in "Avengers: Infinity War", the remaining Avengers and their allies must reassemble to revert those actions in one final stand.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: The film was announced in October 2014 as "Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2". In April 2015, it was revealed that Anthony and Joe Russo would direct the film and in May, that Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely would write the screenplay. In July 2016, Marvel revealed the title would be changed, being known simply at that time as the "Untitled Avengers" film. Its title was revealed as "Avengers: Endgame" in December 2018. Brolin reprises his role as Thanos, and is part of an ensemble cast featuring many actors who have appeared in other MCU films. Filming began in August 2017 in Atlanta, and ended in January 2018. The film was released on April 26, 2019.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: "Avengers: Endgame" begins three weeks after the events of "Infinity War", before jumping ahead five years. It does not have a post-credits scene, but features the sound of an Iron Man suit being hammered at the end of the credits as a callback to the first MCU film "Iron Man", and a teaser trailer for "" (2019) was played after the credits in some screenings of the film a week after the film released. "Endgame" was intended to mark the final appearances of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark and Chris Evans as Steve Rogers.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: Peter Parker goes on a school trip to Europe with his friends. While abroad, he is recruited by Nick Fury to team up with Quentin Beck to battle the Elementals.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: In December 2016, Sony Pictures scheduled a sequel to "Spider-Man: Homecoming" for release on July 5, 2019. A year later, Watts was confirmed to be returning to direct the film. Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, two of the writers of the first film, returned to write the script. Holland revealed the film's title as "Spider-Man: Far From Home" in late June 2018. Filming began in July 2018, in England, with filming also occurring in the Czech Republic, Venice, and New York City. and lasted until October 2018. It was believed that the film would be the first film in until April 2019, when Feige first publicly stated "Far From Home" would serve as the final film of Phase Three. He later added that it would also be the conclusion to "The Infinity Saga". "Spider-Man: Far From Home" had its premiere in Hollywood on June 26, 2019, and was released in the United States on July 2, 2019.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: The film is set eight months after "Avengers: Endgame". Jackson and Cobie Smulders reprise their roles as Fury and Maria Hill, respectively, from previous MCU media. The mid-credits scene features J. K. Simmons reprising his role as J. Jonah Jameson, having previously portrayed a different incarnation of the character in Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" film trilogy. The post-credits scene features Ben Mendelsohn and Sharon Blynn as the Skrulls Talos and Soren, reprising their roles from "Captain Marvel".


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: For Phase Three, directors the Russo brothers wanted to continue using real time, as was the case with Phase Two, and so "Captain America: Civil War" begins a year after "Age of Ultron", with "Avengers: Infinity War" set two years after that. However, producer Brad Winderbaum said the Phase Three films would actually "happen on top of each other" while being less "interlocked" as the Phase One films were, with "Black Panther" and "Spider-Man: Homecoming" respectively beginning a week and two months after "Civil War"; "Thor: Ragnarok" beginning four years after "The Dark World" and two years after "Age of Ultron", which is set around the same time as "Civil War" and "Homecoming"; "Doctor Strange" taking place over a whole year and ending in late 2016, "up to date with the rest of the MCU"; "Ant-Man and the Wasp" also set two years after "Civil War" and shortly before "Infinity War"; and both "Guardians of the Galaxy" and its sequel "Vol. 2" being explicitly set in 2014, which Feige believed would create a four-year gap between "Vol. 2" and "Infinity War", though the other MCU films up to that point do not specify years onscreen. "Captain Marvel" is set in 1995. "Avengers: Endgame" begins shortly after "Infinity War" and ends in 2023 after a five-year time jump. It confirms dates for several other films, including "Doctor Strange" around 2017, and "Ant-Man and the Wasp" in 2018 before "Infinity War". "Spider-Man: Far From Home" begins eight months after "Endgame" in 2024.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: When "Spider-Man: Homecoming" was being developed, director and co-writer Jon Watts was shown a scroll detailing the MCU timeline that was created by co-producer Eric Carroll when he first began working for Marvel Studios. Watts said the scroll included both where the continuity of the films lined-up and did not lineup, and when fully unfurled it extended beyond the length of a long conference table. This scroll was used as the basis to weave the continuity of "Homecoming" into the previous films, such as "The Avengers". This was labeled in the film with a title card stating that eight years pass between the end of "The Avengers" and the events of "Civil War", which was widely criticized as a continuity error that broke the established MCU timeline, in which only four years should have passed. Additionally, dialogue in "Civil War" indicates that eight years pass between the end of "Iron Man" and the events of that film, despite the established continuity being closer to five or six years. "Infinity War" co-director Joe Russo described the "Homecoming" eight years time jump as "very incorrect", and the mistake was ignored in "Infinity War" which specified that its events were taking place only six years after "The Avengers". The public response to the "Homecoming" mistake inspired Marvel Studios to release a new timeline for all three phases.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: Phase Three is the highest-grossing phase, more than doubling Phase Two's $5.3 billion gross, with six of its eleven films making over $1 billion at the worldwide box office, including "Infinity War" and "Endgame", which each made more than $2 billion. As a result, "Infinity War" became the fourth-highest-grossing film ever and "Endgame" the highest-grossing film ever, unadjusted for inflation. "Endgame" surpassed "Infinity War" within eleven days of release and dethroned "Avatar" (2009) on July 21, 2019, after "Avatar" held the title for nearly a decade, 2019 was the first year that three MCU films made at least $1 billion each, thanks to "Captain Marvel", "Endgame", and "Spider-Man: Far From Home". By doing so, "Far From Home" became the first Spider-Man film to make $1 billion at the box office.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: Josh Kurp of "Uproxx" felt that Phase Three was the strongest of all Marvel Cinematic Universe phases. Conner Schwerdtfeger of "CinemaBlend" also felt that Phase Three was Marvel's best, citing increase in diverse unique filmmaking style as his main motivator.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: "WHIH Newsfront" is an in-universe current affairs show that serves as a viral marketing campaign for some of the MCU films, created in partnership with Google for YouTube. The campaign is an extension of the fictional news network WHIH World News, which is seen reporting on major events in the MCU. The videos released during April and May 2016 as a "WHIH Newsfront Special Report" focus on the Avengers and the political issues surrounding them as part of a viral marketing campaign for "Captain America: Civil War". William Sadler reprises his role as President of the United States Matthew Ellis from "Iron Man 3" (2013).


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three

text: "The Daily Bugle" is an in-universe current affairs show serving as viral marketing campaign for "Spider-Man: Far From Home", with six videos released on YouTube during October and November 2019. It is based on the fictional sensationalist news outlet of the same name that appears in the MCU—itself based on the fictional newspaper agency of the same name appearing in several Marvel Comics publications. J. K. Simmons reprises his role as J. Jonah Jameson from the mid-credits scene of "Far From Home".


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Christopher Hikaru Nakamura (born December 9, 1987) is an American chess grandmaster, Twitch streamer, five-time U.S. Chess Champion, and the reigning World Fischer Random Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he earned his Grandmaster title at the age of 15, the youngest American at the time to do so. Nakamura won the 2011 edition of Tata Steel Chess Tournament Group A and has represented the United States at five Chess Olympiads, winning a team gold medal and two team bronze medals. With a peak rating of 2816, Nakamura is the tenth-highest rated player in history. In May 2014, when FIDE began publishing official rapid and blitz chess ratings, Nakamura ranked No. 1 in the world on both lists; he has remained at or near the No. 1 rank on both lists ever since. he has won all of the last five Chess.com Speed Chess Championships.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Nakamura was born in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, to an American mother, Carolyn Merrow Nakamura, a classically trained musician and former public school teacher, and a Japanese father, Shuichi Nakamura. Nakamura has an older brother, Asuka. When he was two years old, his family moved to the United States, and, a year later in 1990, his parents divorced. He was raised in White Plains, New York. He began playing chess at the age of seven and was coached by his Sri Lankan stepfather, FIDE Master and chess author Sunil Weeramantry. Weeramantry began coaching the Nakamura brothers after Asuka Nakamura won the National Kindergarten Championship in 1992, which led to him developing a relationship with their mother.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: At age 10, he became the youngest American to beat an International Master when he defeated Jay Bonin at the Marshall Chess Club. Also at age 10, Nakamura became the youngest player to achieve the title of chess master from the United States Chess Federation, breaking the record previously set by Vinay Bhat (Nakamura's record stood until 2008 when Nicholas Nip achieved the master title at the age of 9 years and 11 months). In 1999, Nakamura won the Laura Aspis Prize, given annually to the top USCF-rated player under age 13. In 2003, at age 15 years and 79 days, Nakamura solidified his reputation as a chess prodigy, becoming the youngest American to earn the grandmaster title at the time, breaking the record of Bobby Fischer by three months.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In April 2004, Nakamura achieved a fourth-place finish in the "B" group at the Corus tournament at Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Nakamura qualified for the FIDE World Chess Championship 2004, played in Tripoli, Libya, and reached the fourth round, defeating grandmasters Sergey Volkov, Aleksej Aleksandrov, and Alexander Lastin before falling to England's Michael Adams, the tournament's third-seeded participant and eventual runner-up.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: On June 20, 2005, Nakamura was selected as the 19th Frank Samford Chess Fellow, receiving a grant of $32,000 to further his chess education and competition.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Nakamura won the 2005 U.S. Chess Championship (held in November and December 2004), scoring seven points over nine rounds to tie grandmaster Alexander Stripunsky for first place. Nakamura defeated Stripunsky in two straight rapid playoff games to claim the title and become the youngest national champion since Fischer. Nakamura finished the tournament without a loss and, in the seventh round, defeated grandmaster Gregory Kaidanov, then the nation's top-ranked player.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Following that victory, Nakamura played a challenge match dubbed the "Duelo de Jóvenes Prodigios" in Mexico against Ukrainian grandmaster Sergey Karjakin (who now identifies as Russian) and defeated his fellow prodigy by 4½–1½.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In November and December 2005, Nakamura competed in the FIDE World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, seeded 28th (of 128 players) but failed to advance beyond the first round. He lost each of his two games to Indian grandmaster Surya Ganguly.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In 2006, Nakamura was offered a full scholarship to the University of Texas, Dallas but instead began attending Dickinson College, with a partial scholarship, in order to take a break from chess. Later in the year, he announced that he would resume playing. The same year, he helped the U.S. team win the bronze medal in the Chess Olympiad at Turin, Italy, playing on the third board behind Gata Kamsky and 2006 U.S. Champion Alexander Onischuk. In the same year, he won the 16th North American Open in Las Vegas.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In January 2007, Nakamura shared second place at the GibTelecom Masters in Gibraltar. He placed joint first in the tournament the following year, finishing with five straight wins to tie with Chinese GM Bu Xiangzhi, whom he then proceeded to beat in the rapidplay playoff.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In October 2007, Nakamura won the "Magistral D'Escacs" tournament in Barcelona and the Corsican circuit rapid chess tournament.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Nakamura won the 2008 Finet Chess960 Open in Mainz, Germany. In November 2008, he won the Cap d'Agde Rapid Tournament in Cap d'Agde, defeating Anatoly Karpov in the semifinals and Vassily Ivanchuk in the finals. In February 2009, he came joint third at the 7th Gibtelecom Masters in Gibraltar, again finishing strongly with 4½/5 to end the event on 7½/10.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Nakamura won the 2009 U.S. Chess Championship (St Louis, Missouri, May 2009), scoring 7/9 to take clear first ahead of 17-year-old GM-elect Robert Hess, who shared second with 6½.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In July 2009, Nakamura won the Donostia-San Sebastian Chess Festival, tying with former FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov with 6½/9 before defeating Ponomariov in a blitz playoff to win the title over a field including former undisputed world champion Anatoly Karpov, former FIDE world champions Rustam Kasimdzhanov and Ponomariov, 2009 World Junior champion Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and Peter Svidler among others. In August 2009, Nakamura became the 960 World Chess Champion, beating GM Levon Aronian 3½–½ in Mainz, Germany.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In November 2009, Nakamura participated in the BNbank blitz tournament in Oslo, Norway. He reached the final by winning all 12 of his games. In the championship, he faced the world No. 2 and reigning World Blitz Champion Magnus Carlsen. Nakamura won the match 3–1, further cementing his reputation as one of the best blitz players in the world, despite having not been invited to the 2009 World Blitz championship.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Nakamura skipped the Chess World Cup 2009 in favor of the London Chess Classic in December 2009. Although he drew with the black pieces against eventual winner Magnus Carlsen and with white against former world champion Vladimir Kramnik, Nakamura failed to win a game during the tournament and ended in seventh place out of eight.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Nakamura began 2010 playing first board for the United States at the World Team Chess Championship held in Bursa, Turkey. His performance, including a win over world No. 6 and recent FIDE World Cup winner Boris Gelfand on the black side of a King's Indian Defense, won him the individual gold medal for board one and led the U.S. to a second-place finish behind Russia.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Nakamura participated in the 2010 Corus tournament in Wijk aan Zee. He finished with +2, tying for fourth with Viswanathan Anand, behind Carlsen, Shirov, and Kramnik.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In May, Nakamura participated in the 2010 United States Chess Championship in Saint Louis, Missouri, attempting to defend his 2009 title. Seeded first, he scored 5/7 points to qualify for the round-robin stage against the 1991 champion Gata Kamsky, 2006 champion Alexander Onischuk, and 2008 champion Yuri Shulman. In the round-robin stage, he drew with Kamsky before losing to Shulman, with the white pieces in both games. The loss to Shulman eliminated him from defending his 2009 title.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Nakamura competed in the 39th Chess Olympiad. Although he defeated Lê Quang Liêm and drew Kramnik with the black pieces during the tournament, the U.S. team failed to medal.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: From November 5–14, Nakamura competed in the 2010 Mikhail Tal Memorial in Moscow; the field consisted of world No. 3 Levon Aronian, world No. 4 Vladimir Kramnik, world No. 6 Alexander Grischuk, world No. 8 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, world No. 9 Sergey Karjakin, Pavel Eljanov, Boris Gelfand, Alexei Shirov, and Wang Hao. The average Elo of the field was 2757, making it the third-strongest tournament in chess history at the time. Nakamura finished at +1, defeating Eljanov and drawing every other player to finish in a tie for fourth place and missing out on a tie for first place by blundering into a draw in a winning position in the final round against Grischuk. Nakamura's round two win over Eljanov placed him in the world top-ten in the live ratings for the first time in his career. Nakamura's performance at this tournament, his first involving an entirely super-elite field allowed him to "force (the chess elite) to respect him", according to noted Russian commentator grandmaster Sergey Shipov.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: From November 16–18, Nakamura made his debut at the 2010 World Blitz Championship in Moscow. Despite a disastrous start and losing four of his first five games to Magnus Carlsen, Vladimir Kramnik, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and Sergey Karjakin, he recovered to score 5/7 in the second half of the day and finished with a score of 7½/14, 2½ points behind co-leaders Carlsen and Levon Aronian, whom he defeated in their individual games. On the second day, Nakamura avenged his earlier losses against both Carlsen and Kramnik and scored 8/14, for a total of 15½/28, three points behind Aronian and a point and a half behind Carlsen. Nakamura finished with 21½/38 for fifth place behind Gelfand, Carlsen, Teimour Radjabov and champion Aronian.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In December 2010, Nakamura finished fourth in the London Chess Classic, among a field including Anand, Carlsen, Kramnik, Michael Adams, Nigel Short, David Howell, and Luke McShane. This included a win with Black against Kramnik, evening their career head-to-head record at 2½/2½. The tournament was won by Magnus Carlsen. Nakamura's performance ensured that he would officially join the world top ten as of January 1, 2011.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In the January 2011 FIDE rating list, Nakamura was ranked number 10 in the world with a rating of 2751.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Nakamura began training with former world champion Garry Kasparov. The first of several training sessions were held in New York at the beginning of January, but the training ended in December 2011.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: From January 14 through 30, Nakamura competed in the Tata Steel Grandmaster A tournament in Wijk aan Zee among a field of world No. 1 and defending champion Magnus Carlsen, world champion and world No. 2 Viswanathan Anand, world No. 3 and reigning World Blitz champion Levon Aronian, world No. 4 and former world champion Vladimir Kramnik, world No. 7 Alexander Grischuk, former FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov, reigning Russian champion Ian Nepomniachtchi, reigning Chinese champion Wang Hao, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Alexei Shirov, Anish Giri, Jan Smeets, and Erwin L'Ami. The average rating of the field was 2740, making this thirteen-round event a category 20 tournament. After twelve rounds, Nakamura was in clear first place with 8½ points going into the final round, half a point ahead of Anand and a full point ahead of Carlsen and Aronian. In the final round, Nakamura drew against Wang with the black pieces in a King's Indian Defense. With the draw, Nakamura finished with 9/13 (+5), a tournament performance rating of 2879, and guaranteed at least a share of first place. With Anand's final round draw against Nepomniachtchi, Nakamura clinched sole possession of first place, making him the first American to win the Wijk aan Zee tournament since 1980. The win also guaranteed that Nakamura would join Carlsen (winner of the 2010 Pearl Spring chess tournament) as qualifiers for Grand Slam Masters Final 2011 in September 2011. Nakamura after the tournament stated that his goal was to reach a 2800 rating by the end of the year; the win raised his rating from 2751 to 2774 and from world No. 10 to world No. 7 on the unofficial live rating list.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In an e-mail, Kasparov said, "Fischer never won a tournament ahead of the world champion. He was second in Santa Monica", referring to the Second Piatigorsky Cup. "Of course, there were far fewer such events back then, and Fischer had several great tournament results like Stockholm 62", the interzonal qualifier for the world championship. "Reuben Fine only equaled Keres on points at AVRO in 38." Referring to the breakout performance of Frank J. Marshall, the United States Champion from 1909 to 1936, Mr. Kasparov continued, "Then you have Marshall at Cambridge Springs in 1904 ahead of Lasker, though Tarrasch wasn't there. So unless you include Capablanca as an American player, I think you can go back to Pillsbury at Hastings 1895 for an American tournament victory on par with Nakamura's.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Following his super tournament triumph, Nakamura was given the key to the city of Memphis, Tennessee on February 15, 2011. The victory also opened the door for Nakamura to receive invitations from other super grandmaster tournaments for the first time, and increased his world ranking to a career-high number eight. In May, he contested a six-game match in the United States against world No. 11 Ponomariov, where he lost the first game but rallied to win the match 3½–2½, raising his rating to 2777 and ranking to world No. 6 on the unofficial live rating list, both career-highs to date. From June 11–21, he made his debut at the Bazna Kings Tournament in Romania in a field including Carlsen, world No. 5 Vassily Ivanchuk, world No. 6 Sergey Karjakin, world No. 13 Teimour Radjabov and Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu; the tournament was a Category XXI event with an average ELO of 2760, making it the third strongest tournament in history; Nakamura finished 4½/10; the tournament was won by Carlsen on tiebreak over Karjakin. Despite the disappointing performance at Bazna, he reached a new career-high world ranking of No. 6 in the July 2011 FIDE list with a 2770 rating.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: From July 21–31, Nakamura made his debut at the Dortmund Invitational in Germany; the field comprised world No. 5 Kramnik, world No. 10 Ponomariov, world No. 27 Lê Quang Liêm, world No. 40 Giri, and Georg Meier. Nakamura had a second consecutive disappointing performance, beginning at −3 before winning his last two games, including a last-round win over tournament winner Kramnik on the black side of the King's Indian Defense, to finish at 4½/10.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Nakamura competed in the Grand Slam Masters Final 2011 in September, after which he played in the Tal Memorial for the second consecutive year in a field comprising Carlsen, Anand, Aronian, Karjakin, Kramnik, Ivanchuk, Gelfand, Hao, and Nepomniachtchi. He finished the year by participating in the London Chess Classic for the third consecutive time.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Starting in 2012, he participated in the Reggio Emilia Tournament, tying for second with Alexander Morozevich of Russia and Fabiano Caruana of Italy. Anish Giri got first place in the tournament, a half-point ahead of the field. Nakamura then played in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, finishing fifth. He won the US Championship in May with a score of 8½, one point ahead of Gata Kamsky.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In June 2012, Nakamura played at the Tal Memorial in Moscow. In a tightly bunched field, he finished tied for eighth with Luke McShane, 1½ points behind winner Magnus Carlsen. He participated in the Biel Chess Festival, finishing third with Anish Giri, behind Carlsen and Wang Hao. At the 2012 Chess Olympiad in August and September, he led the U.S. team to a fifth-place finish with a +4−1=4 record on the first board. Nakamura then suffered through the FIDE London Grand Prix tournament, at one point losing four games in a row. He finished tied for last with Giri. After another lackluster performance in the European Club Championship in Eilat, Israel, Nakamura finished first in the "crown group" at the Univé tournament in Hoogeveen, the Netherlands. In December he tied for third with Mickey Adams in the London Chess Classic with a +3−1=4 score. Nakamura finished the year by winning three silver medals in the three chess events (rapid, blitz and blindfold) at the World Mind Games in Beijing.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: After what was to him a disappointing tournament at the fifth edition of the King's Tournament in Medias (although Nakamura placed third of six among a cadre of top Grandmasters), Nakamura tweeted that he was focusing on the 2011 World Series of Poker, in which he played, although busted out on the second day. Kasparov, who had been training Nakamura at the time, publicly grumbled about his interest in poker.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Nakamura began 2013 with a 7/13 (+3−2=8) result at the Tata Steel tournament in Wijk aan Zee, finishing sixth. He scored a win against then world number five Fabiano Caruana with the black pieces in an Old Indian Defense. He then played at the FIDE Grand Prix tournament in Zug, Switzerland in April, scoring 6½/11 (+3−1=7) and finishing clear second behind Veselin Topalov.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Nakamura did not participate in the 2013 U.S. championship. Instead, he played in the Norway Chess tournament, finishing tied with Magnus Carlsen for second behind winner Sergey Karjakin. His 5½/9 score (+4−2=3) featured a win over then-world champion Viswanathan Anand with the black pieces in a Ruy Lopez. He then scored 5/11 at the FIDE Grand Prix in Thessaloniki, Greece. Nakamura had an up-and-down Tal Memorial in June, at one point winning three straight games and then later losing three straight. He finished in sixth place with a 4½/9 score (+4−4=1). However, he won the blitz tournament before the classical competition, raising his FIDE blitz rating to 2879, first in the world at the time. In the World Cup in Tromsø, Norway, Nakamura scored 6/8 (+5−1=2), eventually losing in the fourth round to Anton Korobov. Nakamura finished second at the Sinquefield Cup in his hometown of St. Louis, behind Carlsen with a 3½/6 (+2−1=3) score, including a win over then world number two Levon Aronian.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: At the FIDE Grand Prix in Paris, Nakamura scored 6½/11 (+3−1=7) and tied for third with Étienne Bacrot, behind co-winners Caruana and Boris Gelfand. He defeated Caruana in their individual encounter but lost to Gelfand. Overall, Nakamura finished sixth in the FIDE Grand Prix 2012–13 series. He then played first board for O.R. Padova in the European Club Championship in Rhodes, Greece and scored 4/6 (+2−0=4). He defeated current Russian champion Peter Svidler with the black pieces in an extremely sharp King's Indian Defense. At the World Team Chess Championship in Antalya, Turkey, Nakamura led the U.S. team to a fourth-place finish. His personal record of 4½/7 (+3−1=3) earned him an individual silver medal on board one. Nakamura closed out his tournament schedule for the year with a win at the London Chess Classic, which was converted to a rapid chess event in 2013. He won his pool in the first stage of the tournament, then defeated Nigel Short, Vladimir Kramnik, and Boris Gelfand in the knockout stage. His overall record was +5−0=7.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Entering 2014, Nakamura had achieved a No. 3 position in the FIDE ratings, below Carlsen and Aronian. He began his 2014 schedule with a ninth-place finish in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament at Wijk Aan Zee, with a 5/11 score (+2−3=6). He then played the Zurich Chess Challenge, drawing with Caruana in the first round and winning against Anand in the second. In the third round, Nakamura achieved a winning position against Carlsen but later made several mistakes and eventually lost the game. Nakamura finished fourth of the six players in the event, with a 7½/15 score.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In April, Nakamura finished third of the six players in the Gashimov Memorial. In the double round-robin event, he lost both of his games to Carlsen but defeated Shakhriyar Mamedyarov twice to close with a 5/10 score (+2−2=6). He then played a four-game match against Czech grandmaster David Navara in June and won easily 3½/4.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In November, Nakamura played a match against Levon Aronian consisting of four classical and sixteen blitz games. The two tied the classical games 2–2; Nakamura won the match with a 9½–6½ score in blitz games.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: On the February 2015 FIDE rating list, Nakamura fell behind Wesley So, the first time since January 2013 that Nakamura had not been the top FIDE-ranked player in the United States.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In January, Nakamura won the Gibraltar Chess Masters tournament, scoring 8½/10 (+7−0=3). In February, Nakamura won the Zurich Chess Challenge after a playoff event to settle a tie. Nakamura had one of his best-ever months as a chess professional in February 2015, and as a result on the March FIDE classical list Nakamura moved to his then-career highest 2798 and No. 3 in the world. That April, Nakamura won his fourth U.S. Chess Championship with a score of 8/11. In the final stage of the 4-stage Grand Prix event, Nakamura finished equal first with Fabiano Caruana and Dmitry Jakovenko with 6½ out of 11 points at Khanty-Mansiysk, giving him an overall second place Grand Prix placement, which automatically qualified him for the Candidates tournament to determine the challenger for Magnus Carlsen in the next Chess World Championship. In the first stage of the June Norway Chess tournament for the Grand Chess Tour, Nakamura finished equal second with Viswanathan Anand with 6 out of 9 points and a 2900 performance. This gave Nakamura 8 points in the first leg of the Grand Chess Tour. It also propelled his rating to a career-high of 2814 and put him at number 4 in the July 2015 world rankings.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In February 2016, Nakamura won the Gibraltar Chess Festival for the second year in a row, scoring 8/10 (+6−0=4) and beating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave on tiebreaks. That same month, he also won the Zurich Chess Challenge for the second year in a row. He tied with Viswanathan Anand on the number of points; however, Nakamura was declared the overall winner due to his higher Sonneborn–Berger score. In March 2016, Nakamura came seventh out of eight in the Candidates Tournament 2016, which decided the challenger—Sergey Karjakin—to face Magnus Carlsen for the World Chess Championship. He scored 7/14, as did the three players directly above him. In September 2016, Nakamura was part of the U.S. team that won the 42nd Chess Olympiad that took place in Baku, Azerbaijan.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In January–February 2017, Nakamura won the Gibraltar Chess Festival with a score of 8/10 points (+6−0=4) and beating David Antón Guijarro in the tie-break final by 1½–½.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In January 2018, Nakamura took second place in the Chess.com Speed Chess Championships after winning matches in 2017 with Sergey Grigoriants, Fabiano Caruana, and then-World Blitz Champion Sergey Karjakin, only losing to Carlsen in the January finals. That February, Nakamura participated in the unofficial Chess960 Championship, losing 10–14 to Carlsen. From May 28 to June 7, he competed in the sixth edition of Norway Chess, placing third with 4½/8 (+1–0=7). The Paris Grand Chess Tour Rapid and Blitz tournament took place 20 to 24 June 2018. Nakamura won the event with 23 points, ahead of Sergei Karjakin with 21½ points and Wesley So who had 21 points. Nakamura won the St. Louis Rapid & Blitz tournament that ran from 11 to 15 August 2018.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Nakamura won the Rapid portion of the inaugural Tata Steel India Chess tournament, held in November 2018 in Kolkata. He also finished runner-up, losing 1½–½ in a tiebreaker to Viswanathan Anand, in the blitz portion of the same event. From December 11–17, Nakamura defeated Fabiano Caruana with a score of 18–10 in the semifinal match at the London Chess Classic and, in the final match with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, scored a victory in the fourth and final blitz game after the previous seven games were drawn. Nakamura thus won the 2018 Grand Chess Tour.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In April, Nakamura won the Bullet Chess Championship hosted by Chess.com. Defeating Grandmasters Alireza Firouzja and Levon Aronian in the quarterfinals and the semifinals, respectively, he then defeated Ukrainian Grandmaster Olexandr Bortnyk to win the tournament.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In early May, Nakamura shared second place with French grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the first leg of the 2019 Grand Chess Tour which was held in Côte d’Ivoire. The tournament was a combination rapid & blitz format, with world champion Magnus Carlsen placing first.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In late May, Hikaru participated in the Moscow FIDE Grand Prix tournament, which is part of the qualification cycle for the 2020 World Chess Championship. The tournament was a 16-player event. Nakamura defeated grandmasters Teimour Radjabov and Daniil Dubov but lost to grandmaster Alexander Grischuk in the semi-final match.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In early September, Hikaru participated in the Champions Showdown: Chess 9LX tournament, which featured seven other grandmasters playing a 4-day match in Chess960. Players faced one opponent only the entire event. Hikaru was paired against Levon Aronian. Despite scoring only half a point out of 8 at the start of the match, Hikaru eventually defeated Aronian by a score of 14½ to 11½.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Nakamura started 2020 as the top-ranked blitz chess player in the world. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, chess moved online, with Nakamura playing an important role in popularizing it.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Since April 2020, Nakamura participated in the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour with a prize pool of $1 million. He won the group stage of Magnus Carlsen Invitational and finished second behind Magnus Carlsen. He beat Carlsen in the semi-finals of Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge but finished second, losing to eventual champion Daniil Dubov in the final. Nakamura qualified for the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour Finals against Carlsen, where he took his opponent to seven matches before drawing an armageddon tiebreaker game as white, thus losing the match. The world champion praised Nakamura after the match, saying, "he played a great match, he made it extremely difficult for me".


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In September, Nakamura tied for first with Carlsen in Champions Showdown: Chess 9LX and finished third in St. Louis Rapid & Blitz.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: After many victories in shorter tournaments on Chess.com, including Titled Tuesday and Super Swiss, Nakamura failed to defend his U.S. Chess Champion title, finishing seventh. The tournament, which took place online in a rapid format, was won by Wesley So.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In October, Nakamura held a 77-board charity simultaneous exhibition online, raising around $9,500 for Doctors Without Borders. Before the 2020 United States presidential election, he challenged President Barack Obama to a game of chess to raise funds for the presidential nominee Joe Biden’s victory fund and ActBlue.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Nakamura won the Chess.com Speed Chess Championship in December. It was his third victory in the format. The site promoted the knockout tournament by emphasizing a possible rematch of Nakamura and world champion Magnus Carlsen in the final. However, French grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave defeated Carlsen in their semi-final match earning a spot in the final against Nakamura. In the Speed Chess Championship final, Nakamura defeated Vachier-Lagrave by a score of 18½ to 12½. Nakamura's skill at bullet chess proved to be the deciding factor, as he beat Vachier-Lagrave 8–3 in the bullet section of the match. Previous to the final Nakamura had defeated grandmasters Haik Martirosyan 21–5, Vladimir Fedoseev 21½–5½, and Wesley So 13½–12½.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Since November, Nakamura participated in the Champions Chess Tour 2021, qualifying for the knockout stage of Skilling Open and Airthings Masters. After losing in the quarterfinals of the second event to Levon Aronian, Nakamura and his team held a charity stream, raising over $358,000 for CARE.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Nakamura continued to play the Champions Chess Tour with the Opera Euro Rapid tournament in February 2021. In the initial round-robin phase of the tournament, Nakamura compiled an up-and-down record. His final round-robin game against fellow American grandmaster Sam Shankland was pivotal. A win or draw in the game would have secured Nakamura's qualification to the tournament's knockout phase. He obtained a winning position against Shankland but failed to convert the advantage and eventually lost the game. This resulted in his exclusion from the knockout phase based on tiebreaks with Russian grandmaster Daniil Dubov.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In the Magnus Carlsen Invitational, the next tournament on the Champions Chess Tour, Nakamura scored +3−0=12 to place fourth in the preliminary stage and thus qualified for the knockout phase. He then lost his two-day quarterfinal match against Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi. He drew 2–2 with Nepomniachtchi on the first day but lost 2½–½ on the second day.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Nakamura scored +4−0=11 in the preliminary stage of the New In Chess Classic, the fifth event of the Champions Chess Tour, thus finishing second and qualifying for the tournament's knockout stage. After defeating Lê Quang Liêm and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, he lost to Magnus Carlsen 3–1 in the first match of the final and drew the second match 2–2, thus losing the final and finishing in second place. Nakamura qualified for the knockouts of the other two events, FTX Crypto Cup and Chessable Masters, finishing in the overall fifth place in the Tour after showing the second strongest performance in the Tour Final.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In August 2021, Nakamura won the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz competition without a single loss in his first over-the-board tournament since before the COVID-19 pandemic. He had three wins and six draws in the rapid portion, as well as six wins and twelve draws in the blitz portion.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: In December 2021, he won Chess.com's 2021 Speed Chess Championship by defeating GM Wesley So 23–8 in the final match. This was his fourth successive victory in this event.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: From 26 to 28 December 2021, Nakamura participated in the 2021 World Rapid Chess Championship in Warsaw, where he ended up in sixth place after tiebreaks. On the 29th he played the first leg of the 2021 World Blitz Chess Championship, but had to forfeit the tournament due to testing positive for COVID-19.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Nakamura was granted a wildcard entry to the FIDE Grand Prix 2022 in December 2021 by the FIDE President. In the first leg of the tournament held in Berlin in February 2022, he played in Pool A alongside Andrey Esipenko, Étienne Bacrot, and Alexander Grischuk, making it his first classical tournament in two years. Through five rounds, he held a 3½/5 (+2−0=3) lead in his group. Following a thriller against Esipenko in the sixth round, Nakamura held a draw with black to win his group and advance to the semifinals to face Richárd Rapport. With white, he convincingly won a complicated rook-and-pawn endgame to take a 1–0 lead in the semifinals. He held a draw in the following game to advance to the finals against Levon Aronian. The classical portion was drawn, but he won in rapid 2–0 to win the first leg of the tournament.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: On March 18, Nakamura won the 2022 edition of the Bullet Chess Championship hosted by chess.com, beating Andrew Tang in the final.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Entering the third and final leg of the FIDE Grand Prix 2022, Nakamura was ranked second in the Grand Prix standings with 13 points. He played in Pool A alongside Andrey Esipenko, Grigoriy Oparin, and Levon Aronian, who was ranked third in the standings entering the tournament with 10 points. On March 28, Nakamura defeated Esipenko to finish a 4/6 run in the round-robin stage, guaranteeing him at least second place and qualifying him for the Candidates Tournament 2022. On March 31, after a draw in the semi-finals against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, he secured first place in the Grand Prix standings, thus winning the Grand Prix 2022 series. He would eventually proceed to defeat Mamedyarov by drawing in classical and proceeding to rapid tiebreakers, where he won the tiebreakers in a 2–0 sweep. This briefly propelled Nakamura to the highest live rapid chess rating on April 1, surpassing Magnus Carlsen, though Carlsen regained his number one spot after Nakamura lost to Wesley So on tiebreakers in the finals of the third leg of the Grand Prix.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: From June 16 to July 4, Nakamura participated in the 2022 Candidates Tournament, finishing in fourth place with a score of 7½/14.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: On October 20, Hans Niemann filed a $100 million lawsuit against Nakamura. See Carlsen–Niemann controversy.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: On October 30, Nakamura won the second World Fischer Random Chess Championship ahead of reigning World Fischer Random Champion Wesley So, World Classical Champion Magnus Carlsen, World Rapid Champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov, and runner-up World Chess Championship 2021 contender Ian Nepomniachtchi, defeating the latter in armageddon.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: On December 18, Nakamura won his fifth straight Speed Chess Championship, defeating Magnus Carlsen 14.5 v. 13.5 in the final.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Nakamura is particularly skilled at rapid and blitz chess, a variety of time controls in which players have less than an hour to complete all or most of their moves. Nakamura is ranked No. 1 on the FIDE blitz list and was previously ranked No. 1 on the rapid list. He is also strong at bullet chess, a time control giving the players one minute each. In 2009, Nakamura authored the book "Bullet Chess: One Minute to Mate". Nakamura said in September 2020, "At least at blitz chess, I'm probably the best or second-best player ever, in the entire history, at least online."


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Nakamura's long-time second is USCF National Master Kris Littlejohn, who works with chess engines to prepare lines for Nakamura to play.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Nakamura has played on the Internet Chess Club (as "Capilanobridge"; formerly as "Smallville") and Playchess (as "Star Wars"). He served as a commentator and game annotator on the ChessNinja website, operated by chess author Mig Greengard.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Nakamura is sponsored by Chess.com, a chess website. In 2018, Nakamura began streaming on the platform Twitch under the name "GMHikaru". He plays speed chess games, variously against grandmasters, other streamers, and viewers who pay to subscribe to his channel. He may play blindfolded or with piece handicaps, such as odds of a queen. He also reviews his tournament games on stream. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, chess became significantly more popular on Twitch, with Nakamura widely identified as a significant reason for this. His channel received a tenfold increase in audience size between February and June 2020. Around August 2020, Nakamura averaged 14,000 viewers and streamed on Twitch on most days. By September 2020, he had reached 500,000 followers. Nakamura often plays games using "joke openings" while on stream, including the Bongcloud Attack, the Jerome Gambit and the Botez Gambit. Nakamura has stated that he prioritizes his streaming career over his chess playing career.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: On August 27, 2020, Nakamura signed with the esports organization Team SoloMid (TSM) for a six-figure sum, making him one of the first chess players to join an esports team. He operates a Discord server named "Naka's PogUniversity" and has a Twitter account. Nakamura also has a YouTube channel, which had over 1.24M subscribers , up from 78,000 subscribers in the beginning of 2020. When asked about his popularity online, Nakamura attributed it to "the ability to play extremely high-level chess" while "seemingly ... not focused on the game" and conversing with his viewers. Nathan Grayson of "Kotaku" called it a "combination of teacherly wisdom, galaxy-brained skills, and uncommon expressiveness".


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Nakamura has also coached beginner chess players on his Twitch platform, including the streamer xQc. He gave lessons to players in PogChamps, an amateur tournament for Twitch streamers hosted by Chess.com, and its sequel, PogChamps 2. He additionally provided commentary. At its peak, the tournament was the most-watched channel on Twitch for a short period, with 63,000 viewers. Nakamura told "Kotaku" that though the competition had been met with some criticism, he believed that such tournaments with varying levels of skills among players could become popular. On February 14, 2021, PogChamps 3 began. During the xQc vs. Rubius match on the second day of the event, chess hit its all-time high of 115,000 viewers in the chess category on Twitch.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: On February 14, 2021, Nakamura reached a milestone of one million followers on his Twitch channel, GMHikaru. During the FIDE Grand Prix in March 2022, Twitch suspended Nakamura for three days (later reduced to two days) after he broadcast and commented on chess games being played by Dr Disrespect, who is permanently suspended from the streaming platform.


title: Hikaru Nakamura

text: Nakamura appeared as himself in season 5, episode 2 of the Showtime series "Billions", which premiered May 10, 2020. Nakamura is also an active stock market investor. In April 2017, he appeared on Bloomberg Television to discuss the relationship between chess and stock trading. During his chess streams Nakamura occasionally discusses stock market investing and general financial topics.


title: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

text: The game was originally being developed internally by Kojima Productions, who announced the game in 2009 under the title of "Metal Gear Solid: Rising". However, the team met with difficulties in developing a game based on swordplay, so executive producer Hideo Kojima postponed its development until a solution could be found. The project resurfaced in late 2011 under its finalized title, with PlatinumGames as the new developer. The game underwent significant changes in its play mechanics and storyline under PlatinumGames' involvement, although Kojima Productions retained responsibility for the game's overall plot and Raiden's design.


title: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

text: Upon its worldwide release in February 2013, "Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance" was well received by critics, being praised for its sophisticated cutting system, its use of "Metal Gear" elements to complement the story despite the game's focus on action, its soundtrack, and its boss fights; some criticism was directed at its camera mechanics and the short length of the story mode. The game also enjoyed positive sales, with the PS3 and Steam versions selling an estimated total of more than copies. While those involved in the game's production have expressed desire to develop a sequel, such prospects have yet to come to fruition due to the ensuing conflicts between Konami and Kojima Productions.


title: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

text: Players assume control of Raiden, a katana-wielding cyborg. He is initially playable in his "Standard Body" form, which resembles the body used by Raiden in "", but with a more natural-looking face. The player can alter Raiden's appearance through alternative skins. Unlike previous titles in the "Metal Gear" series, where players try not to be noticed by enemies, "Rising" is action oriented, focusing on sword fighting and a sophisticated cutting system to fight and defeat enemies. Although Raiden's main weapon is his high-frequency blade, he is not restricted to just that as he can use other replacement blades, sub-weapons or secondary weapons. Raiden can wield sub-weapons such as two kinds of rocket launchers, four kinds of grenades, the iconic cardboard box, an oil drum, and a 3D photo frame. Otherwise, secondary weapons can only be obtained after defeating the game's bosses.