Hans Moke Niemann shared his opinion on the changes to the qualification paths for the FIDE Candidates Tournament. Niemann calls the changes a great improvement, and claims that Ding Liren, Alireza Firouzja, and Hikaru Nakamura had previously taken advantage of the rating spot.

Hans Moke Niemann

Hans Moke Niemann

American GM

“Am I happy with the new criteria for Candidates? That is a great improvement. I think the rating spot was taken advantage of by Ding, Alireza, and Hikaru.

All three of them have interesting loopholes. Ding had his matches in China against his comrades. Firouzja had his matches against, what do you call, the YMCA Grandmasters. And then Hikaru showed his degree of shame…

So that’s a great improvement. I think that FIDE is going in the right direction.”

Ding Liren, Alireza Firouzja, and Hikaru Nakamura each qualified for the Candidates Tournament via the rating spot in 2022, 2024, and 2026 respectively. Ding finished 2nd in the tournament and won the World Championship Match 2023 against Ian Nepomniachtchi. Alireza Firouzja finished 7th out of 8, winning 2 games and losing 5. Hikaru Nakamura finished 5th, winning 1 game and losing twice.

FIDE announced changes to the qualification paths for the FIDE Candidates Tournament on July 14. The changes include the removal of slots for rating and for 3rd place at the World Cup, the addition of slots for the Total Chess Championship, and other. The changes take effect starting from the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2028.

Credit: Lennart Ootes