FIDE plans to remove ratings pathway after Carlsen’s comment on Nakamura: ‘Easy to game. Our fault’

The world of chess is once again debating how players should qualify for the Candidates tournament, the event that decides who will challenge the world champion. The debate began after five-time world champion
Magnus Carlsen expressed his dissatisfaction over the process. Now, FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky has issued a strong response.

At the moment, one of the eight spots in the Candidates is given through the ratings spot. This place goes to the highest-rated player in the FIDE rankings who has not already qualified through other events like the World Cup, Grand Swiss, or FIDE Circuit. In the past, former world champion Ding Liren have used this pathway to enter the Candidates.

This year, American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura earned the ratings spot for the 2026 Candidates tournament. However, he had to play an extra tournament in the United States to meet a FIDE rule that says a player must play a minimum number of rated games in a year to be eligible.
This led to controversy because many, including Carlsen, feel that top players shouldn’t play small tournaments to qualify for big events.

Speaking at an event, Carlsen had said, “The fact that Nakamura is going around playing these — as he calls it himself, referring to something I said many years ago, Mickey Mouse tournaments in order to qualify for the Candidates, in order to play the 40 games that are required by FIDE. I think that’s absolutely… it’s wild. It’s insane, why would you require somebody who’s very clearly good enough to play in the Candidates, why would you require him to play these tournaments which he doesn’t really have time for? Well, you want to have the best players in the Candidates and he’s clearly one of them.”

However, Sutovsky does not agree with Carlsen’s comments and has responded on social media. He called the ratings pathway requirements too modest and easy to game and vowed to remove them altogether. If the proposal is accepted, players will only be able to qualify through the World Cup, the Grand Swiss, the FIDE Circuit, and the new Total World Championship Tour.

He said, “‘Clearly good enough’ is a bad definition to select a player in FIDE Candidates. Unless we return to wild card system in Candidates (not under my watch!), it can’t work. ‘He doesn’t really have time for’ is more alarming though. Really? We are talking about qualification to the most important tournament in two years. How come a top pro, who is supposed to qualify by rating that proves he is still a very top pro, does not have time? It is wrong on so many levels. The requirements were actually very modest – and in a hindsight too modest, easy to game. Our fault. But to call a requirement to actually play chess ‘wild’ is wild.”

“Clearly good enough” is a bad definition to select a player in FIDE Candidates.

Unless we return to wild card system in Candidates (not under my watch!), it can’t work.

“He doesn’t really have time for” is more alarming tho. Really? We are talking about qualification to the… https://t.co/OORzuE8Isq

— Emilchess (@EmilSutovsky) December 6, 2025