American GM and popular streamer Hikaru Nakamura commented on his FIDE rating-based qualification for the 2026 Candidates Tournament in an interview with Reuters.com on January 6. He described this method as standard practice in competitive chess.

Hikaru Nakamura

Hikaru Nakamura

World No.2, streamer

“The controversy is complete nonsense! Any chess player, they know the game. They’ll do whatever they can to ensure the optimal outcome, just like they do when they actually play chess over the board.

I think the vast majority of people did not have an issue with it. I don’t see any issue with it, because I know that any player in my situation would have done the exact same thing.”

The FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 will take place from March 28 to April 16, at the Cap St Georges Hotel and Resort in Pegeia, Cyprus. Magnus Carlsen voluntarily declined participation in the Candidates, which allowed Hikaru Nakamura (2810) to qualify for the event via second-place position on the FIDE rating list.

Credit: FIDE/Lennart Ootes