Hikaru Nakamura Aims for FIDE Candidates Rating Spot

In a recent livestream, American chess grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura shared his intentions of trying to win the ultimate crown in chess—the World Chess Championship—one last time.

Hikaru opened up about his strategy to secure a spot in the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament through the rating qualification pathway – the player with the highest average rating from August till January 1st 2026 qualifies. Nakamura plans to compete in open tournaments, starting September 2025, marking his final push to qualify for the Candidates and pursue the World Chess Championship title. It should be noted that Nakamura is counting on the rating spot since he has no plans to participate in the other qualifying events, such as the FIDE Grand Swiss, which earned him a Candidates spot in his previous campaign. Confident in his approach, Nakamura noted minimal competition for the rating spot—World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen will not play, No. 3 Fabiano Caruana has already qualified, and No. 4 Praggnanandhaa is likely to secure the FIDE Circuit spot.

On many occasions Hikaru has credited his changed and easy mindset, catalysed by shifting focus from competitive chess to live streaming, which led to his resurgence in the top ranks, cementing himself as the World No. 2 behind Carlsen. Hikaru’s journey has been nothing short of extraordinary, and his millions of fans are rooting for his last efforts for competitive chess glory.

Photo courtesy: Hikaru Nakamura’s live broadcast