Hikaru Nakamura wins Maritime Open and gets closer to completing the games requirement
Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, the world’s number-two ranked chess player, continues his quest for the 2026 Candidates Chess Tournament by participating in yet another tournament. This time Nakamura appeared in Canada, where he added 6 more games to his game tally.
Chessdom continues to follow Nakamura’s road to Candidates. The next tournament of Nakamura is coming and it will have its prominent place in the calendar of Hikaru Nakamura.
Nakamura road to Candidates 2026 so far
09.01.2025 Hikaru Nakamura wins Louisiana State Chess in a bid for Candidates 2026 spot
09.06.2025 Hikaru Nakamura continues his quest for Candidates Chess 2026
09.06.2025 Hikaru Nakamura, “I will collect all US State Chess Championship Honorary Titles on my Road to the Candidates 2026”
09.07.2025 Iowa Chess Open Championship 2025 LIVE
09.08.2025 Hikaru Nakamura with 5,0/5 in Iowa on the road to Candidates Chess 2026
09.09.2025 Hans Niemann’s take on Nakamura’s Road to Candidates 2026
10.09.2025 Hikaru Nakamura, “There should be no rating spot, FIDE kept it for Carlsen”
29.09.2025 FIDE approves rating regulation change
11.10.2025 Hikaru Nakamura road to Candidates: October
Hikaru Nakamura at the Maritime Open
Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, the world’s number-two ranked player, made yet another unanticipated appearance, this time at the 2025 Maritime Open Chess Championship, held from October 11-13 in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada. As part of his strategic “Road to the Candidates” campaign for the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament, Nakamura aimed to accumulate the requisite 40 classical games. The tournament, a six-round Swiss event with a mix of international masters and regional talents, saw Nakamura drop into the field unannounced, drawing immediate buzz among participants and spectators.
In Round 1 Nakamura won against 12-year-old Women’s FIDE Master Michelle Zhang (1917), as he navigated a tense 65-move endgame where engines initially signaled a drawable position despite his extra pawn. Round 2 saw Nakamura win vslocal expert Titan Dunahee (1808) efficiently, but Round 3 brought drama: a hard-fought draw against International Master Mike Ivanov (2381 elo, coached by Miodrag Perunovic), where Nakamura’s ambitious King’s Indian Defense gambit faltered under Ivanov’s solid central counterplay, costing him 4.4 rating elo points. Undeterred, Nakamura rebounded with wins over IMs Mark Plotkin (2353) and Tangi Migot (2324), finishing the event with 5,5/6.