GM Hikaru Nakamura has all but secured his place in the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament, after winning the 1st Annual Washington Dulles Open over the weekend—a five-round Swiss event that provided the final classical games he needed to meet FIDE’s 40-game eligibility requirement.
While most of the world’s top players have been battling in India for three Candidates’ spots at the FIDE World Cup, Nakamura took a different route, choosing instead to complete the required games in a series of smaller tournaments across the continent. His participation in Washington effectively sealed his qualification through the rating spot, which goes to the player with the highest average rating from August 2025 to January 2026.
Meanwhile, on Monday, FIDE confirmed that the 2026 Candidates Tournament will be held from March 28 to April 16 at the Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort near Paphos, Cyprus, alongside the Women’s Candidates Tournament.
Nakamura’s Road To Candidates
The 37-year-old had played just 18 classical games until September, but raised eyebrows when he decided to participate in a series of what he called “Mickey Mouse” tournaments throughout North America to fulfill the requirement.
Nakamura has previously scored 7/7 in Louisiana (six rated games), 5/5 in Iowa, and 5.5/6 in the Maritime Chess Festival in Canada before his final stop, with 4.5/5 in Washington this weekend.
Top 10 1st Annual Washington Dulles Open:
| # | Title | Player Name | FIDE rating | Score |
| 1 | GM | Hikaru Nakamura | 2813 | 4.5 |
| 2 | Daniel Girsh | 2237 | 4.5 | |
| 3 | GM | Praveen Balakrishnan | 2505 | 4.0 |
| 4 | IM | Lokumannage De Silva | 2400 | 4.0 |
| 5 | FM | Matthew Diao | 2310 | 4.0 |
| 6 | CM | Kent Slate | 2218 | 4.0 |
| 7 | Benjamin Amrany | 2121 | 4.0 | |
| 8 | IM | Maximillian Lu | 2395 | 3.5 |
| 9 | FM | Vaibhav Kalpaka | 2230 |
3.5
|
| 10 | Sam Martin | 2053 |
3.5
|
|
Full standings at US Chess.
Nakamura’s score was enough to win the tournament on tiebreaks, but he dropped rating points again, a drop that was made worse after FIDE scrapped the 400-point rule for players rated above 2650.
The five-round Swiss event in Washington had 67 players in the three-day Premier Section. It was considerably stronger than his previous events, with participation from several titled players.
That was clear during the event as well, as Nakamura ended up in trouble and was forced to fight for his points. Nakamura admitted he was not happy with his play, saying, “Both games were abysmal!” he said. “In the end, I get the win, but both games were not my finest moments for sure. Nonetheless, I avoided disaster.”
Both games were not my finest moments for sure. Nonetheless, I avoided disaster.
—Hikaru Nakamura
The first of these games was his round two encounter against 15-year-old WFM Khanim Ismayilova from Azerbaijan. The world number-two had to fight for 77 moves to squeeze out a win, after the youngster sacrificed the exchange to reach a drawn endgame.
He faced another talented 15-year-old in the next round, 2310-rated FM Matthew Diao. Nakamura was in serious trouble after the opening, and things could easily have gone wrong for the super grandmaster.
However, Nakamura won that game and the next one, against IM Lokumannage Susal Thewjan De Silva, before a short 15-move draw in the final round against GM Praveen Balakrishnan in the final round on Sunday.
!!! pic.twitter.com/5jKNrfPB3p
— Hikaru Nakamura (@GMHikaru) November 9, 2025
That was actually the only point he gave away during his run, in which he scored an almost perfect 21/22 points. More importantly, Nakamura now maintains a significant lead in average rating, ahead of GM Fabiano Caruana.
Ratings Race To Qualify For 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament
| Rank | Player | FED | Avg. Rating* | Games 12m | Games 6m | Notes |
| 1 | Magnus Carlsen | 2839.33 | 16/40 | 1/15 | 24 more games needed | |
| 2 | Hikaru Nakamura | 2810.83 | 40/40 | 22/15 | All conditions met | |
| 3 | Fabiano Caruana | 2791.17 | 64/40 | 24/15 | Already qualified |
* Assuming players keep their current live ratings for the Dec 2025 and Jan 2026 rating list.
Nakamura is now close to guaranteed to take the rating spot, as even a miraculous rating jump by Caruana would leave him ahead by average rating. Carlsen could potentially overtake him if he decides to go on a similar run in classical tournaments, but the former world champion has repeatedly made it clear he’s not interested in rejoining the World Championship cycle.
In his latest YouTube video, Nakamura stated he will not play more classical tournaments until the Candidates Tournament next year. “My wife is due to give birth to our first child together sometime in the next couple of weeks. That’s where my focus is going to be, we’ll see if I sleep, what I do with videos, and everything else.”
My wife is due to give birth to our first child together some time in the next couple of weeks. That’s where my focus is going to be.
—Hikaru Nakamura
FIDE Announces Candidates In Cyprus
Meanwhile, FIDE announced on Monday that the Candidates Tournament and the Women’s Candidates Tournament will take place in Cyprus between March 28 and April 16. The winners of the Candidates will face the reigning world champion, GM Gukesh Dommaraju, while the winner of the Women’s Candidates will face GM Ju Wenjun.
FIDE hosted two Women’s Grand Prix events on the island nation, but this is the first time such a prestigious event has been held there. The governing chess body confirmed that both the open and the women’s event will be held at the luxury Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort, a five-star coastal venue near Paphos, on Cyprus’ scenic southwestern coast.
“The Candidates Tournament is the final and hardest test for any chess player wishing to take on a world champion in a match for the title, and it is the most difficult hurdle in the world championship cycle,” said FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich. “Cyprus has hosted the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix twice, and the time has come for the most prestigious tournament in the chess calendar, the Candidates.”
The €1 million event will follow the familiar format with two fields of eight players, who will battle in a double round-robin format over 14 rounds. Both tournaments will feature a time control of 120 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30-second increment starting from move 41. Players will not be permitted to draw by agreement before Black’s 40th move.
Nakamura is the fourth player to qualify for the Candidates, after Caruana (2024 FIDE Circuit), GM Anish Giri (2025 FIDE Grand Swiss winner), and Matthias Bluebaum (2025 FIDE Grand Swiss Runner-Up), while Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu is very close to securing a spot through this year’s FIDE Circuit.
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