Hikaru Nakamura invokes Arjun Erigaisi while rekindling Candidates 2026 qualification debate: ‘I’d probably replace…’

Hikaru Nakamura has caused quite the stir ahead of Candidates by questioning the qualification of Andrey Esipenko and Matthias Bluebaum, who are among the eight top Grandmasters set to compete in the prestigious tournament in Cyprus starting later this month.

World No 2 Nakamura further added that he would replace Esipenko with Indian No 1 Arjun Erigaisi and Bluebaum with fellow German GM Vincent Keymer – whom he described as the "best player in the last 12 months" after Magnus.

"If I were to look at my perfect Candidates, I think I’d probably replace Esipenko with Arjun and Bluebaum with Vincent Keymer. I think both of these players deserve to qualify," said Nakamura told Chess.com.

"Vincent, especially — it’s just really, really insane that he’s not playing. In some ways, I’d even say he’s probably been the best player in the last 12 months, other than Magnus," added the 38-year-old, who is a strong favourite heading into the tournament alongside fellow American Fabiano Caruana.

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Why Nakamura, and not Esipenko and Bluebaum, is under the scanner

Esipenko had qualified for the tournament by finishing third at the FIDE World Cup in Goa while Bluebaum had secured his place as the runner-up of the Grand Swiss tournament that had taken place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan in September.

Interestingly, it's Nakamura whose Candidates qualification is under the scanner. The veteran GM and streamer, after all, had qualified for the tournament via the rating spot, finishing as the highest-rated player from August 2025 to January 2026.

With world No 1 Magnus Carlsen having already made it clear he was not interested in challenging India's D Gukesh for the world championship and Caruana having already secured his place as the winner of the 2024 FIDE Circuit, Nakamura was the overwhelming favourite to qualify through this avenue.

Nakamura, however, raised eyebrows by competing in lower-ranked tournaments where he was the only player with a 2700-plus rating, blazing his way through such events and facing minimum resistance along the way.

His controversial strategy has further raised doubts over the fairness of the rating spot, with many in the chess community urging Lausanne-based governing body FIDE to scrap it altogether or tweak rules to ensure Candidates hopefuls don't take such shortcuts.

The Candidates Tournament takes place from 28 March to 16 April