We Need to Talk about Hikaru Nakamura

It is currently 09 - 07 - 2025, and Hikaru just finished the 70th Iowa Open and placed first with a perfect score of 5/5. And also recently he placed first in the Louisiana State Championship with also a perfect score of 7/7. But Hikaru didn't play for the money; instead, he played it so he could qualify for the 2026 Candidates Tournament by rating spot. And after his last game, his rating is now 2815.8. If he plays one more game and wins, he will reach his new peak rating. But that's not the point. Many people think the rating spot is "stupid" and that FIDE is using it to lure Magnus Carlsen back into the Candidates. In particular, Hikaru stated that FIDE is trying to lure Magnus back in.  But, it doesn't look like Magnus is going for it, and Hikaru decided it's his turn to get to the Candidates. But many people don't like that he is " farming" lower-rated players.  Many grandmasters, like Ian Nepomniachtchi, tweeted.

I mean, this doesn't talk about Hikaru, but you get that Ian also thinks it's stupid. But this same Ian Nepomniachtchi played Ding Liren for the 2023 World Championship. Ding Liren actually qualified the same way Hikaru is trying to do right now. And Alireza also did the same to qualify for the 2024 Candidates. 

  But my question to you is, do you think FIDE should change the rating spot, or should they keep it the same?  And what do you think about the rating spot?

 This Aadharsh Alagarsamy, signing off