Fabiano Caruana challenged the idea that Hikaru Nakamura belongs in the world's top 5 during a conversation on the C-Squared Podcast. Caruana emphasized that any ranking must be grounded in concrete evidence rather than potential. He pointed out that Nakamura's recent tournament appearances have been sparse and his results underwhelming when he does compete.

Caruana outlined Nakamura's recent over-the-board activity. The player's participation has included the Candidates, a match against Awonder, and Clutch Chess. Beyond these events, Nakamura has appeared in local American tournaments. According to Caruana, these sparse appearances make it difficult to justify a top 5 claim based on performance.

Caruana acknowledged that Nakamura possesses genuine strength and could potentially return to elite status. However, he framed this as purely hypothetical. Caruana suggested that if Nakamura were to resume serious classical competition, maintain a rating around 2775 to 2780, and play approximately 60 classical games annually while achieving top finishes, then a top 5 ranking could be justified.

The World No. 3 emphasized that current results do not support the case for Nakamura's top 5 status. Caruana contrasted Nakamura's limited schedule with his own commitment to regular tournament play and rating maintenance. He noted that without concrete achievements in over-the-board competition, ranking Nakamura among the world's elite remains speculation rather than fact.