Hikaru Nakamura has raised concerns about the relevance of formal titles and online ratings in assessing true chess ability. According to Nakamura, the gap between a player's official rating and their actual strength has widened considerably. He points to young Iranian FM Artin Ashraf as a case in point, describing him as possessing grandmaster-level play despite holding only a Fide Master title.

Nakamura estimates Ashraf's classical playing strength at approximately 2550 to 2600, a significant leap above his official FIDE rating of 2470. The discrepancy grows even wider when considering online performance, where Ashraf has achieved a blitz rating of 3181 on Chess.com. Nakamura cautions against judging a player's ability solely on displayed credentials.

The proliferation of online tournaments has fundamentally altered the meaning of high ratings, Nakamura explains. Where once a rating above 3200 was exceptionally rare and meaningful, such scores have become commonplace in the digital sphere. This transformation has created a new reality in which traditional markers of chess strength no longer carry the same weight they once did.