Fabiano Caruana
Encyclopedia
Fabiano Luigi Caruana (born July 30, 1992) is Grandmaster and chess prodigy
with dual citizenship of Italy and the United States.
On 15 July 2007 Caruana became a Grandmaster at the age of 14 years, 11 months, 20 days – the youngest Grandmaster in the history of both Italy and the United States.
In the November 2011 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of 2727, making him 23rd in the world.
lived during his youth. At age 5, his chess talent was discovered in an after school chess program at Congregation Beth Elohim
in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and he played his first tournament at the Polgar Chess Center in Queens, New York.
Up to the age of twelve, he lived and played in the United States, with occasional travel to European and South American tournaments.
His first chess coach, from age six to eight, was National Master Bruce Pandolfini
, and from age eight to twelve he studied with Grandmaster Miron Sher. In 2004 at age twelve, he relocated with his family from Park Slope, Brooklyn to Madrid to pursue a professional chess career. He trained with International Master Boris Zlotnik in Madrid, and in 2007 he moved to Budapest to train with Grandmaster Alexander Chernin
.
At age fourteen Caruana became the youngest ever Grandmaster of both the United States and Italy (surpassing the record in the United States set by Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura
). He currently lives in Lugano Switzerland, and plays for Italy.
The game Caruana – Nigel Short
, played in the last round of Wijk aan Zee-B 2009, had a dramatic course: Short had a decisive advantage, but blundered with 47... Nh4?, losing a piece. The simple 47... cxd2 48. Rxc6 dxe1=N! +, King moves 49.Nxf3 was the correct course. Caruana then strayed, allowing Short a perpetual check
with 57. Qd3+, which would have been enough to win the tournament. Instead, Short played the disastrous 57. Qb5+ ?? Ke4 and Caruana won after a few moves.
Chess prodigy
Chess prodigies are children who play chess so well that they are able to beat Masters and even Grandmasters, often at a very young age. Chess is one of the few sports where children can compete with adults on equal ground; it is thus one of the few skills in which true child prodigies exist...
with dual citizenship of Italy and the United States.
On 15 July 2007 Caruana became a Grandmaster at the age of 14 years, 11 months, 20 days – the youngest Grandmaster in the history of both Italy and the United States.
In the November 2011 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of 2727, making him 23rd in the world.
Life and career
Fabiano Caruana was born on July 30, 1992 in Miami, Florida of an Italian-American father and an Italian mother. At age 4 his family relocated from Miami, Florida to Park Slope, Brooklyn. Coincidentally, this was the same neighborhood where Bobby FischerBobby Fischer
Robert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
lived during his youth. At age 5, his chess talent was discovered in an after school chess program at Congregation Beth Elohim
Congregation Beth Elohim
Congregation Beth Elohim , also known as the Garfield Temple and the Eighth Avenue Temple, is a Reform Jewish congregation located at 274 Garfield Place and Eighth Avenue, in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, United States....
in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and he played his first tournament at the Polgar Chess Center in Queens, New York.
Up to the age of twelve, he lived and played in the United States, with occasional travel to European and South American tournaments.
His first chess coach, from age six to eight, was National Master Bruce Pandolfini
Bruce Pandolfini
Bruce Pandolfini is a chess author, teacher and coach. He was famously portrayed by Ben Kingsley in the 1993 film Searching for Bobby Fischer, based on the book of the same name by Fred Waitzkin...
, and from age eight to twelve he studied with Grandmaster Miron Sher. In 2004 at age twelve, he relocated with his family from Park Slope, Brooklyn to Madrid to pursue a professional chess career. He trained with International Master Boris Zlotnik in Madrid, and in 2007 he moved to Budapest to train with Grandmaster Alexander Chernin
Alexander Chernin
Alexander Mikhailovich Chernin is a prominent chess master and a former Soviet Champion now living in Hungary.-Tournaments and championships:...
.
At age fourteen Caruana became the youngest ever Grandmaster of both the United States and Italy (surpassing the record in the United States set by Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura
Hikaru Nakamura
Hikaru Nakamura is an American chess Grandmaster . He has been ranked among the top six players in the world by FIDE....
). He currently lives in Lugano Switzerland, and plays for Italy.
2007
- Grandmaster Title - Caruana obtained his final GM norm earning the Grandmaster title in July. Due to his young age and having broken the prior "contemporary" record of Hikaru NakamuraHikaru NakamuraHikaru Nakamura is an American chess Grandmaster . He has been ranked among the top six players in the world by FIDE....
as youngest ever American to become a Grandmaster, he received much attention from the international chess world.
- Vlissingen chess tournament - In August he played the strong Vlissingen chess tournament in the Netherlands. His last round opponent was former FIDE world champion Rustam KasimdzhanovRustam KasimdzhanovRustam Kasimdzhanov is an Uzbekistani chess Grandmaster, best known for winning the FIDE World Chess Championship 2004. He was born in Tashkent, in the former Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic...
. Caruana playing black, drew the game in 82 moves, and won the tournament with performance of 2715.
- Italian ChampionshipItalian Chess ChampionshipThe Italian Chess Federation , was established in 1920.The first Italian Chess Championship took place at Viareggio 1921.The 1998 Championship was held 21–29 November in Saint-Vincent....
- At the end of the year he participated in the Italian Championship. The prior year he was the co-champion of Italy by tying with Michele GodenaMichele GodenaMichele Godena is an Italian chess player and many times the national champion.A resident of Finale Ligure, he achieved the title of International Grandmaster in 1996, following a plus score on board one for Italy at the Yerevan Olympiad...
but losing the fifth rapid play-off game. This year he won with a score of +8 (9.5/11) to become the youngest ever Italian champion.
2008
- Corus C - This was his first experience at Corus and throughout much of the tournament he was the clear leader. His last round opponent was Parimarjan NegiParimarjan NegiParimarjan Negi is a chess Grandmaster from India. In July 2005, he earned his third and final International Master norm at the Sort International open chess tournament in Sort, Spain...
, and Caruana needed ½ point to win the tournament. Caruana won the game in 61 moves and the tournament with a final score of +7 (10/13) and performance of 2696.
- Ruy Lopez Festival - Taking place in early April, the Ruy Lopez Festival included a seven round closed tournament, and a two-day rapid open tournament. In the seven round closed tournament, Caruana had a disappointing result of -2 (2.5/7) with performance of 2513. The two-day rapid open tournament that followed was won by Caruana with a score of +6 (7.5/9) followed by Michael Adams, Julio Granda Zuniga, and Dzhurabek Khamrakulov all with a score of +5 (7/9).
- Mitropa Cup - In June he played first board for Italy at the Mitropa Cup, which is a four-board team competition amongst 10 "middle" European nations. He scored +6 (7.5/9) winning the first board prize with performance of 2810.
- NH "Rising Stars vs. Experienced" - This tournament is of a Scheveningen formatScheveningen systemThe Scheveningen system is a method of organizing a chess match between two teams. Each player on one team plays each player on the other team . The team with the highest number of games won is the winner. This system is a popular way to create title norm opportunities.The system was first used...
which is a double round team match of five "Rising Stars" against five "Experienced" players. Caruana played against Evgeny BareevEvgeny BareevEvgeny Bareev is a Russian chess Grandmaster and chess coach. In October 2003, he was in fourth place in the world rankings, with an Elo rating of 2739....
, Viktor Kortchnoi, Artur Jussupow, Simen AgdesteinSimen AgdesteinSimen Agdestein is a Norwegian chess grandmaster and ex-football star. He has won seven Norwegian chess championships, including the 2005 title....
, and Ljubomir LjubojevicLjubomir LjubojevicLjubomir Ljubojević is a Grandmaster of chess. He was born on November 2, 1950, in Titovo Užice, Yugoslavia . Ljubojević was awarded the International Master title in 1970 and the GM title in 1971. He was Yugoslav champion in 1977 and 1982. He won the 1974 Canadian Open Chess Championship...
. He scored +3 (6.5/10) with performance of 2706. - Cap d'agde - The event was a knock-out closed rapid tournament organized into two round robin groups of eight players each, with the top four scorers of each group proceeding to the quarter-finals, the semi-finals, and then the finals. The time controlTime controlA time control is a mechanism in the tournament play of almost all two-player board games so that each round of the match can finish in a timely way and the tournament can proceed. Time controls are typically enforced by means of a game clock...
was 25 minutes with a 10-second increment. In his group, Caruana placed first with a score of +4 (5.5/7) winning against Maxime Vachier-LagraveMaxime Vachier-LagraveMaxime Vachier-Lagrave is a French chess Grandmaster and the 2009 World Junior Chess Champion.-Grandmaster norms:He completed his final grandmaster norm at age 14 years, 4 months, in 2005....
, Xiangzhi Bu, Alexandra KosteniukAlexandra KosteniukAlexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk is a Russian chess Grandmaster and a former Women's World Chess Champion.-Chess career:Kosteniuk learned to play chess at the age of five after being taught by her father...
, Marie SebagMarie SebagMarie Sebag is a French chess player, who won the French Chess Championship for women in 2000 and 2002.-Tournament results:...
, and drawingDraw (chess)In chess, a draw is when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser.For the most part,...
against Vassily Ivanchuk, Ivan CheparinovIvan CheparinovIvan Cheparinov is a Bulgarian chess player, who won the Bulgarian Chess Championship in 2005.-Topalov's second:Until 2007, he was best known as the second of former FIDE World Champion Veselin Topalov...
, and Kateryna Lahno. Caruana's performance was 2866 and he had qualified to enter the quarter-finals. His quarter-final match, which was against Anatoly KarpovAnatoly KarpovAnatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...
, was closely fought. Karpov won the first game, and Caruana won the second. Then tie-break games with time control of 15 minutes were played. The first four games were all drawn. The fifth game Karpov won, and Caruana was knocked out. - 38th Olympiad38th Chess OlympiadThe 38th Chess Olympiad, organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between 12–25 November 2008, in Dresden, Germany and was won by Armenia.The 2010 Olympiad is...
- This was Caruana's first Olympiad. On the first board he played against Levon AronianLevon AronianLevon Grigor Aronian is an Armenian chess Grandmaster and the reigning World Blitz Chess Champion. On the September 2011 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of 2807, making him number three in the world and Armenia's number one...
in the first round, Viktor KorchnoiViktor KorchnoiViktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit...
in the fourth round, Michael Adams in the fifth round, Emanuel BergEmanuel BergEmanuel Berg is a Swedish chess player with the title Grandmaster.-First moves and playing style:As a youngster, he made solid progress and was consequently selected to represent his country in the various age categories of the European Youth and World Youth Championships...
in the seventh round, and Peter LekoPéter LékóOn the way to winning the prestigious Corus chess tournament in 2005, Lékó defeated Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand with the black pieces. The moves were:...
in the eighth round. He lost to Aronian and Leko, and won against Adams, Korchnoi, and Berg. His final score was 7.5/11 with performance of 2696. - Italian Championship - Caruana successfully defended his title winning the title for the second consecutive year with a score of +5 (8/11).
2009
- Corus B - Having won Corus C 2008, Caruana received and accepted invitation to Corus B 2009 which was of category 16 with average Elo of 2641. Throughout the tournament his standings ranged from first to third place. Going into the last round he was tied for second and his opponent was Nigel ShortNigel ShortNigel David Short MBE is an English chess grandmaster earning the title at the age of 19. Short is often regarded as the strongest English player of the 20th century as he was ranked third in the world, from January 1988 – July 1989 and in 1993, he challenged Garry Kasparov for the World Chess...
who was in clear first. The game lasted 67 moves. Caruana won the game and the tournament with a score of +4 (8.5/13) and performance of 2751. Caruana is the first player ever to win both Corus C and Corus B in consecutive years placing clear first in both.
- In April Caruana played in the Russian Team Championship at SochiSochiSochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...
with the "Club 64" of MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, scoring 5 points out of 6; his team placed second after TomskTomskTomsk is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Tom River. One of the oldest towns in Siberia, Tomsk celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2004...
.
- In May he played with the Italian team in the "Mitropa Cup" at Rogaska SlatinaRogaška SlatinaRogaška Slatina is a settlement and a municipality in Slovenia. It is famous for its curative mineral water, spa and crystal glass.Rogaška Slatina is a synonym for health resort tourism in Slovenia. For centuries the curative mineral water rich in magnesium , the picturesque countryside and other...
in Slovenia, scoring 6 points out of 8 and winning the individual gold medal on first board.
- In November Caruana played in the Chess World Cup 2009Chess World Cup 2009The Chess World Cup 2009 was a 128-player single-elimination tournament, played between 20 November and 14 December 2009, in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. The Cup winner qualified for the Candidates stage of the World Chess Championship 2011. Boris Gelfand defeated Ruslan Ponomariov in the...
at Khanty-MansiyskKhanty-MansiyskKhanty-Mansiysk experiences a subarctic climate . The climate is extreme, with temperatures as low as -49 C° and as high as 34.5 C°. On average, however, the region is very cold, with an average tempurature of -1.1 C°...
in Russia. In the first two rounds he beat the Cuban grandmasters Lázaro BruzónLázaro BruzónLázaro Bruzón Batista is a chess grandmaster from Cuba. On the January 2011 FIDE list his Elo rating is 2686. Bruzón was the 2000 World Junior Chess Champion. In 2004 he finished first at the XII Torneo "Guillermo Garcia" in Memoriam in Villa Clara...
and Leinier Dominguez (Elo 2719), in the third the Russian Evgeny Alekseev (Elo 2715); in round four he lost, only in the rapid games, to Vugar GashimovVugar GashimovVugar Gashimov , born July 24, 1986 in Baku, is one of the leading chess players from Azerbaijan. He is a noted player of Bullet chess and three times Azerbaijani national chess champion .He won at Athens 2005 ....
(Elo 2759 and seventh in the world). This performance allowed him to reach 2675 points Elo.
2010
- In December, Caruana won the Italian Championship for the third time and scored 9/11.
- From 28 December 2010 to 6 January 2011 Caruana played in the 53rd Reggio Emilia Tournament. He placed 6th out of 10 and tied 7 out of his 9 games (only winning, again, against Nigel Short).
2011
- In the Gibraltar Masters from 25 January to 3 February, Caruana finished on place 5 behind Ivanchuk, Short, KülaotsKaido KülaotsKaido Külaots is an Estonian chess Grandmaster .He won Estonian Chess Championship in 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2010 and played for Estonia in the Chess Olympiads of 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008....
and RoizMichael RoizMichael Roiz is an Israeli chess Grandmaster.He learned to play chess at the age of 7. At the age of 9, he finished 2nd in the national championship under-10 category...
.
- In July 2011 Caruana won with 7 points out of 10 at the AAI tournament in New Dehli (category 17).
Rating
- His rating in the January 2011 FIDE ratings list is 2721 - a year-to-year increase of 46 points.
Federations
- Caruana, possessing dual citizenship of both the United States and Italy, has the option of FIDE affiliation with either country. On 11 October 2005, after living in Europe for 10 months, he transferred his affiliation from the United States (USA) to Italy (ITA).
- In Rome on 9 February 2009, Caruana met with Gianni PetrucciGianni Petrucci’’’Giovanni’’’ Petrucci said ’’’Gianni’’’ is an Italian sports director.He is the current President of CONI for the fourth consecutive term, that will end after the Games of the XXX Olympiad of 2012....
, President of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI). During that meeting, Caruana initiated discussions with Petrucci regarding elevation of the status of the Italian Chess Federation (FSI) from "Associate Sport Discipline" (DSA) to "National Sport Federation" (FSN).
Notable games
- Fabiano Caruana – Emanuel Berg, Dresden Olympiads 2008, French Defence C-08
- Fabiano Caruana – Francisco Vallejo-Pons, Pamplona 2008, Sicilian Najdorf B-90
- Artur Yusupov – Fabiano Caruana, NH Chess tournament 2008, Slav Defence D-10
- Michael Adams – Fabiano Caruana, Dresden Olympiads 2008, French Defence C-03
- Fabiano Caruana – Nigel Short, Corus-B Wijk aan Zee 2009, Catalan opening E-06
The game Caruana – Nigel Short
Nigel Short
Nigel David Short MBE is an English chess grandmaster earning the title at the age of 19. Short is often regarded as the strongest English player of the 20th century as he was ranked third in the world, from January 1988 – July 1989 and in 1993, he challenged Garry Kasparov for the World Chess...
, played in the last round of Wijk aan Zee-B 2009, had a dramatic course: Short had a decisive advantage, but blundered with 47... Nh4?, losing a piece. The simple 47... cxd2 48. Rxc6 dxe1=N! +, King moves 49.Nxf3 was the correct course. Caruana then strayed, allowing Short a perpetual check
Perpetual check
In the game of chess, perpetual check is a situation in which one player can force a draw by an unending series of checks. Such a situation typically arises when the player who is checking cannot deliver checkmate; while failing to continue the series of checks gives the opponent at least a chance...
with 57. Qd3+, which would have been enough to win the tournament. Instead, Short played the disastrous 57. Qb5+ ?? Ke4 and Caruana won after a few moves.
Further reading
- "Fabulous Fabiano", by Macauley Peterson, Chess LifeChess LifeChess Life is a monthly chess magazine published in the United States. The official publication of the United States Chess Federation , it reaches more than a quarter of a million readers every month. A subscription to Chess Life is one of the benefits of Full Adult, Youth, or Life membership in...
, January 2008, pp 30–35. - by Janis Nisii, Torre & Cavallo Scacco!, February 2008, pp 5–9 [in Italian]
External links
- Fabiano Caruana at 365Chess.com
- Fabiano Caruana's Complete Chess Game Collection (personal website of a fan, 574 games)
- Biography from Chessbase.com
- "A Chess Player's Challenge: Opponents His Own Age" (The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, 17 May 2003) - 2007 Italian Championship interview from Chessbase.com