Nakamura Seals Candidates Rating Spot – Only Carlsen Could Stop Him
On November 9, 2025, America’s top player, Hikaru Nakamura, secured his rating spot for the 2026 FIDE Candidates by completing the required 40 classical games in 2025. With the exception of Magnus Carlsen, no other player can realistically catch up with Nakamura in the race for the rating spot.
Hikaru Nakamura has been notoriously active, playing open tournaments with relatively weak fields—tournaments he himself calls “Mickey Mouse tournaments”—in a deliberate effort to reach 40 games while maintaining his undisputed 2800+ Elo rating, he concluded the remaining required games at the 1st Annual Washington Dulles Open 2025, where he scored 4 wins and 1 draw in 5 games.
Nakamura drew his final-round game against the only other grandmaster in the field, GM Praveen Balakrishnan (2505).
With 40 games completed and a commanding average rating of 2810 (July–December 2025, assuming no further games), Nakamura is untouchable in the race for the rating spot—barring Carlsen, who has repeatedly stated his intention not to participate in the World Championship cycle. Hikaru’s closest rival and fellow American, Fabiano Caruana, has already qualified for the Candidates via the 2024 FIDE Circuit. As of November 10, 2025, five of the eight Candidates spots are effectively locked in, with three more to be decided at the ongoing World Cup in Goa. Who will join Nakamura, Fabiano, Anish, Bluebaum, and Pragg in the battle for the right to challenge the World Chess Champion?
