Nakamura, seeking to qualify for the Candidates, wins tournaments undefeated in Louisiana and Iowa

Hikaru Nakamura is working toward meeting the requirement of playing enough classical games in 2025 to qualify via rating for the 2026 Candidates Tournament. The world number two recently participated in two state tournaments in the United States, achieving perfect scores in both. He won all seven games at the Louisiana State Championship in New Orleans and then added five more wins at the Iowa Open. With these results, his total now stands at 29 classical games, meaning he needs to play 11 more before the end of the year.

The qualification process for the 2026 Candidates Tournament is attracting more attention as the year progresses. One of the leading figures in the race is American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, the current world number two, who has opted for an unusual route to secure his spot. Rather than qualifying at the World Cup or the Grand Swiss, Nakamura is aiming for a spot through rating, a path that requires maintaining a very high Elo rating and meeting a minimum number of computed classical games.

The regulations specify that the player who achieves the highest average rating over six months, from August 2025 to January 2026, provided they play at least 40 classical games during the year, will obtain the spot. Given that Fabiano Caruana is already qualified after winning the 2024 FIDE Circuit and Magnus Carlsen does not plan to participate, Nakamura is considered the favorite to qualify through rating. His rivals, particularly Indian stars Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Arjun Erigaisi, could secure their spots through other means, which makes Nakamura's task somewhat easier.