Fabiano Caruana facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fabiano Caruana |
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Caruana at the 2025 Tata Steel Masters
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| Full name | Fabiano Luigi Caruana |
| Country | United States (pre-2005; since 2015) Italy (2005–2015) |
| Born | July 30, 1992 Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Title | Grandmaster (2007) |
| FIDE rating | 2835 (August 2025) |
| Peak rating | 2844 (October 2014) |
| Ranking | No. 2 (November 2023) |
| Peak ranking | No. 2 (October 2014) |
Fabiano Luigi Caruana (born July 30, 1992) is a famous American and Italian chess grandmaster. He is currently a four-time United States Chess Champion. With a top rating of 2844, Caruana is known as the third-highest-rated chess player in history.
Born in Miami to Italian parents, Fabiano grew up in Brooklyn. He was a chess prodigy, meaning he was incredibly talented at chess from a young age. He played for the United States until 2005. Then, he decided to play for Italy until 2015. He became a grandmaster in 2007 when he was just 14 years old. In the same year, he won his first Italian Chess Championship. He won this title three more times in 2008, 2010, and 2011.
In 2014, Caruana won the Sinquefield Cup. He achieved an amazing performance rating of 3098, which is the highest ever in top-level chess tournaments. In 2015, he switched back to playing for the United States. The next year, in 2016, he won the US Chess Championship.
Fabiano Caruana won the FIDE Grand Prix 2014–15, which helped him qualify for the Candidates Tournament 2016. He came in second place in that tournament. He then won the next Candidates Tournament 2018. This made him the first American to challenge for the World Chess Championship since Bobby Fischer in 1972. In 2018, Caruana played against Magnus Carlsen for the World Chess Championship. All twelve of their main games were draws. Carlsen won the championship in faster tie-break games. Caruana has continued to play in every Candidates Tournament since then, including in 2020, 2022, and 2024. He has also qualified for the 2026 Candidates Tournament. In 2025, he joined the esports team Team Liquid.
Caruana has also represented the United States in team events. He played on the top board for the U.S. team at the 42nd Chess Olympiad. His team won the gold medal, and he won an individual bronze medal. Besides regular chess, Fabiano is also very good at rapid and blitz chess.
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Fabiano's Early Life and Chess Journey
Fabiano Caruana was born on July 30, 1992, in Miami, Florida. His parents are Italian, and he is a citizen of both Italy and the United States. When he was four years old, his family moved to Brooklyn, New York City.
Discovering Chess Talent
Fabiano's amazing chess talent was first noticed when he was five. This happened during an after-school chess program. That same year, he played in his first chess tournament.
Learning from Coaches
From age six to eight, Fabiano's first chess coach was National Master (NM) Bruce Pandolfini. From age eight to twelve, he learned from Grandmaster (GM) Miron Sher. In 2004, his family moved to Madrid, Spain. This move was so he could focus on becoming a professional chess player. He played for Italy from 2005 to 2015. He trained with different coaches in Europe, including International Master (IM) Boris Zlotnik and Grandmaster Alexander Chernin. In 2014, he moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States.
Fabiano's Chess Career Highlights
Becoming a Grandmaster in 2007
In July 2007, Fabiano won a tournament in Budapest. He earned his final "GM norm" there. This meant he officially became a Grandmaster at 14 years, 11 months, and 20 days old. He was the youngest Grandmaster for both the United States and Italy at that time. Later that year, he won the Italian Chess Championship, becoming the youngest Italian champion ever.
Early Successes: 2008-2011
In 2008, Caruana won the Corus C tournament. He then won the Italian Championship for the second year in a row. In 2009, he won the Corus B tournament. He was the first player to win both Corus C and Corus B in back-to-back years. He also did well in team events, winning a gold medal for Italy in the Mitropa Cup. In 2010 and 2011, he won the Italian Championship two more times, making it four titles in total.
Big Tournaments and High Ratings: 2012-2014
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In 2012, Fabiano had a very strong year. He finished second at the 74th Tata Steel Chess Tournament and won the Reykjavik Open. He also won the Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament and the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting. He tied for first at the Grand Slam Chess Final, but lost in a tie-break.
In 2013, Caruana continued to perform well. He won the Zurich Chess Challenge. He also placed high in several FIDE Grand Prix events, which are important tournaments for qualifying for the World Championship cycle.
The year 2014 was a huge year for Fabiano. He finished second at the Shamkir Chess 2014 tournament. He also came second in the FIDE World Rapid Championship. In July, he won the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting. This win pushed his rating above 2800 points for the first time.
The Amazing Sinquefield Cup 2014
In August and September 2014, Caruana won the 2014 Sinquefield Cup in Saint Louis, Missouri. This was one of the strongest tournaments ever, with many of the world's top players, including Magnus Carlsen. Fabiano started with seven wins in a row! He finished the tournament with 8.5 points out of 10 games, without any losses. His performance rating was an incredible 3098, which is the highest in chess history for a top-level tournament.
Return to the U.S. and World Championship Challenge: 2015-2018
In 2015, Caruana won the FIDE Grand Prix 2014–15, which earned him a spot in the 2016 Candidates Tournament. He also won the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting again.
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In March 2016, Fabiano played in the Candidates Tournament 2016 in Moscow. He was very close to winning and becoming the challenger for the World Championship. In the final game, he needed to win against Sergey Karjakin, but he lost. Karjakin became the challenger instead. However, in April 2016, Caruana won the US Chess Championship for the first time, going undefeated. In September, he played for the U.S. team at the 42nd Chess Olympiad. The U.S. team won the gold medal, and Fabiano won a bronze medal for his individual performance.
In 2017, Caruana's rating dropped a bit, but he still had strong results. He finished second at the Grenke Chess Classic and won the London Chess Classic in tie-breaks. He also qualified for the Candidates Tournament 2018 through his high rating.
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In March 2018, Fabiano Caruana won the Candidates Tournament 2018 with a score of 9/14. This victory gave him the right to challenge Magnus Carlsen for the World Chess Championship. Before the championship match, he won the 5th Grenke Chess Classic and 6th Norway Chess. He also shared first place at the 6th Sinquefield Cup.
World Chess Championship 2018
From November 9 to 28, 2018, Caruana played against Magnus Carlsen in the World Chess Championship 2018 in London. All 12 of their classical games were drawn, which means no one won or lost. This was a very rare and exciting outcome! The championship then went to faster tie-break games. Carlsen won these rapid games 3-0, so he kept his title as World Champion.
Recent Years: 2019-2025
In January 2020, Caruana won the 2020 Tata Steel Masters tournament. He finished two points ahead of Magnus Carlsen. His rating reached 2842, which was his highest since 2014. He also played in the 2020 Candidates Tournament, which was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When it restarted in 2021, he finished tied for third place.
In 2021, Caruana continued to compete in major events. He played in the Chess World Cup 2021 and finished second in the FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament 2021. This second-place finish qualified him for the Candidates Tournament 2022. He also won the 2021 Vugar Gashimov Memorial.
In 2022, Caruana won the first American Cup. He also won the 2022 US Chess Championship, becoming the U.S. champion for the second time. He finished third in the World Rapid Chess Championship 2022.
In 2023, Fabiano had an incredible year. He won the Superbet Chess Classic in Bucharest. He reached the semifinals of the Chess World Cup 2023, which qualified him for the Candidates Tournament 2024. He successfully defended his title at the 2023 US Chess Championship, winning it for the third time. He also won the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz and the 2023 Sinquefield Cup. Caruana won the overall Grand Chess Tour 2023 with the highest point total in the tour's history.
In 2024, Caruana continued his winning streak. He defended his title at the Superbet Chess Classic in Romania. He also won the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz in Croatia. He placed second in the 2024 Sinquefield Cup and second in the overall Grand Chess Tour standings. Most notably, he won the 2024 US Chess Championship, making him a four-time U.S. champion (2016, 2022, 2023, 2024). He also won the 2024 U.S. Masters Chess Championship and qualified for the 2026 Candidates Tournament.
In 2025, Caruana joined the esports organization Team Liquid, starting their chess division. He won the Champions Showdown: The Kings in St. Louis and finished second in Norway Chess 2025.
Fabiano's Playing Style
When Fabiano was younger, he had a very aggressive chess style. He loved to attack and sacrifice pieces to try and win quickly. As he became a stronger player, he learned that he needed to be more flexible. He developed a "universal" style, meaning he can play well in many different types of positions.
Fabiano is known for his excellent opening preparation and his ability to calculate many moves ahead. Magnus Carlsen has even called him "The Machine" because of his strong calculation skills. Caruana is also known for being a very hardworking player. He spends a lot of time studying games and looking for new ideas. He understands that to be the best, you have to constantly learn and adapt.
Fabiano's National Chess Titles
Fabiano Caruana has been a member of the United States Chess Federation (USCF) since he was five years old. He is currently the highest-ranked player in the United States.
- Italian Chess Championship: Caruana won the Italian National Championship four times: in 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2011.
- United States Chess Championship: Caruana has won the U.S. Chess Championship four times: in 2016 (his first time playing in it), 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Fabiano has dual citizenship, so he can choose to play for either the Italian Chess Federation or the United States Chess Federation. He played for Italy from 2005 to 2015, and then switched back to playing for the United States in 2015.
See also
In Spanish: Fabiano Caruana para niños
