Hikaru Nakamura is among the prime contenders to qualify for subsequent yr’s Candidates event through the rankings spot route, however that doesn’t imply he likes the idea of a rankings spot. The rankings spot is among the many pathways to qualify for the eight-player Candidates event, which is the ultimate step to difficult for the World Chess Championship title.
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The FIDE score spot can be given to the highest-rated participant in line with the 6-month common score primarily based on FIDE Customary Score Lists from August 1st 2025 until January 1st 2026 supplied the respective participant has performed at the least 40 video games calculated for FIDE Customary Score Lists from February 1st 2025 until January 1st 2026 (together with at the least 15 video games in any of the 6 consecutive score lists).
Nakamura has stated that the one motive FIDE, the worldwide governing physique of chess, nonetheless is making a gift of a rankings spot is to maintain the door open to former world champion Magnus Carlsen, who has repeatedly stated that he’s not curious about taking part in both the Candidates or the World Championship.
“I’ve stated that there are numerous issues during the last couple of years that FIDE has has gotten improper and one of many large issues is there shouldn’t be a score spot. I believe having a score spot is a large mistake.
“It perhaps will not be politically appropriate to say this, however my view concerning the score spot, it’s merely, you already know, ‘we’re sorry, Magnus. Right here’s right here’s your probability to play the Candidates and turn out to be world champion once more in the event you’re actually
’. And I don’t suppose there’s every other motive that FIDE have the score spot. I believe it’s actually on
the off probability that Magnus wakes up tomorrow and immediately he decides that he desires to play classical severely once more,” Nakamura advised Chessbase India in an interview through the ongoing Las Vegas leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour. “FIDE, for no matter motive, can’t recover from the truth that Magnus has moved on from classical chess and he has no curiosity on the planet championship.”
Nakamura identified how gamers like Ding Liren and Alireza Firoujza had gamed their technique to securing a score spot up to now.
Gamers may also qualify for the Candidates through the 2024 FIDE Circuit (Fabiano Caruana has secured this spot), ending within the prime 3 on the 2025 FIDE World Cup, ending within the prime 2 on the Grand Swiss event or by score.
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Nakamura stated that for him, the one plan to qualify for the Candidates was through the rankings spot whose existence he was criticising.
“That’s the solely plan. I’ve already made it very clear that I’m not taking part in the Grand Swiss or the World Cup. So it’s both that or nothing. Yeah, my plan is is fairly easy,” Nakamura stated.