Hikaru Nakamura was born in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, to a Japanese father and an American mother. At the age of two years old, he moved with his parents to the United States. Nakamura began playing chess at the age of seven and was coached by his Sri Lankan stepfather, FIDE Master and chess author Sunil Weeramantry. Within three years, at the age of 10 Nakamura achieved the title of "Chess Master" from the United States Chess Federation . This made him the youngest American ever to earn the title and breaking the record previously set by Vinay Bhat. In 2003, Nakamura solidified his reputation as a chess prodigy, by earning, at age 15 the grandmaster title, breaking by three months the record of Bobby Fischer for youngest American to have claimed the GM title, surpassed only by Fabiano Caruana. Nakamura hopes to become the world chess champion