Triggered by Hikaru Nakamura’s desperate attempt to qualify for the 2026 Candidates, FIDE has announced a huge change to its rating system, which will take effect on October 1. According to the new amendment, the change will apply to players rated 2650 and above, affecting approximately 70 top-rated GMs. The 400-point rule has been scrapped in the change.
According to the rule, a player was never seen as more than 400 rating points higher-rated than their opponent, and a top player could bag the minimum 0.8 rating points for every win against weaker players. Now FIDE has changed its rule to, “8.3.1 For each game played against a rated player, determine the difference in rating between the player and their opponent, D.”
“A difference in rating of more than 400 points shall be counted for rating purposes as though it were a difference of 400 points, for players rated below 2650. For players rated 2650 and above, the difference between ratings shall be used in all cases.”
What does it mean for top GMs like Magnus Carlsen and D Gukesh?
According to the new rule, for top GMs, games against lower-rated players will now be almost completely rating-free on the upside. But if they draw or fall to a defeat, their rating could see a huge change. So now if the likes of Magnus Carlsen and D Gukesh play against lower-raed opponenst, a draw or a defeat could see them lose plenty of points and a win will barely see a change.
The new change comes after American GM Nakamura bagged nine rating points from his 11 wins against players rated as low as 1800 at the Iowa Open and Louisiana State C’ship this month. He has to play 40 classical games to qualify for the rating spot of the Candidates Tournament.
According to FIDE rules, one spot at the tournament is reserved for the highest-rated player, based on the six-month average rating based on Standard Rating Lists from August 1, 2025, to January 1, 2026. The player also needs to have played at least 40 classical games during that time period. Nakamura had played only 18 classical games in 2025 before August.
Taking to X, FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky explained, “No more farming. If you are a 2650+ player, do prove your skill vs opponents of comparable strength. Why 2650? It is a top-100 level, and these players rarely face low-rated opponents. While, for example, GMs with 2500-2650 mostly play in large opens, and they should not suffer from the new regulations. Additionally, FIDE prepared a detailed questionnaire related to ratings. After what period a player should be considered inactive? How to approach rating decay, etc. This will be sent to the top – 100 and women’s top-50, to have their feedback before taking the decisions on a whole range of matters. I’d like to thank FIDE QC for the fruitful joint work on the matter.”
In another post, he explained the reasons behind the change. He wrote, “Just to be clear. The rule is not about Hikaru. He did trigger it, but when we started to dig, it turned out there were at least five players more of 2650+ level who, in 2024-25 regularly played events with a string of very low-rated opponents, abusing 400-points rule. It was not occassional 450 or 500 points difference – but 700-800, often close to 1000 points. And not a single game like that per event, but rather most of them. Hundreds of events were examined. Dozens of hours spent. Several solutions were reviewed, and it passed through three different panels before getting approved. I do think it is fair and balanced.”
