Hikaru Nakamura, “I will collect all US State Chess Championship Honorary Titles on my Road to the Candidates 2026”
n a strategic move to secure his spot in the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament, world number-two chess Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura participated in the 2025 Louisiana State Championship in New Orleans, a relatively small tournament with a $3,000 prize fund, where he scored a perfect 7/7 against opponents rated significantly lower, including FM Nicholas Matta (2344). This participation sparked debate in the chess community regarding Nakamura’s strategy, previously used by Ding Liren.
Hikaru Nakamura announced he continues his quest for Candidates Chess 2026 with Iowa Open. On X Nakamura said, “If you are bored by the Grand Swiss 2025, come check out my quest to collect all US State Championship Honorary Titles on my Road to the Candidates 2026 on http://kick.com/gmhikaru!”
Follow all state championships through The Chess Calendar. The next event of Nakamura will be live on Chessdom