Fabiano Caruana
One of the strongest classical players of the modern era. Caruana’s peak rating of 2844 is the third-highest in history, behind only Garry Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen.
Born in Miami to Italian parents and raised in Brooklyn, he became a grandmaster at 14 and played for Italy for a decade, winning four Italian titles, before returning to the U.S. federation in 2015. His 3098 performance at the 2014 Sinquefield Cup is still the best ever recorded at elite level.
He won the 2018 Candidates and drew all twelve classical games of the title match against Carlsen, losing only in rapid tiebreaks. He has qualified for every Candidates since, including 2026, and is the reigning U.S. champion.
Career highlights
- 2018 World Championship challenger
- Won the 2018 Candidates
- Reigning five-time U.S. Champion
- 3098 performance at the 2014 Sinquefield Cup, a record at elite level
- Peak rating 2844, third-highest ever
Titles
- Grand Chess Tour: 2023, 2025
- U.S. Chess Championship: 2016, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
- Sinquefield Cup: 2014, 2018, 2023
- Tata Steel Chess Tournament: 2020
- Candidates Tournament: 2018
- Norway Chess: 2018
- London Chess Classic: 2017
- Reykjavík Open: 2012
- Biel Chess Festival: 2010
From the winners lists on our event pages.
Fabiano Caruana in The Chess Herald
- Li, 16, Takes Women's Title as So Stumbles, Caruana Forces Playoff
- So Draws Niemann in Under an Hour, One Round From a Fourth Title
- So Holds Caruana to a Draw and Keeps His Full-Point Lead
- So Beats Woodward in a Pawn Ending, Leads Caruana by a Point
- Total Chess Rating Puts Carlsen at 2830, 51 Points Clear
Show all 30 articles
- So Takes Sole Lead on 5/7 as Liang Falls in 27 Moves
- Weekly Recap: The U.S. Championship Tightens in Saint Louis While Youth Records and Upsets Pile Up
- Caruana and Liang Join a Four-Way Lead After Round 6
- Woodward Beats Caruana as Eight of 12 Games Are Decisive
- Caruana Joins So in the Lead as Liang Falls to Xiong
- Caruana Wins Titled Tuesday on a U.S. Championship Rest Day
- Woodward and Shankland Win as So and Liang Stay Level at 2.5
- So and Liang Lead Open at 2/2, Bottom Seeds Top the Women
- Weekly Recap: Samarkand Afterglow, Fagernes Heats Up and Caruana Eyes a Record
- Caruana Chases a Fifth Straight US Title, and Reshevsky's Record
- Weekly Recap: Turlov Takes Over FIDE as Uzbekistan Wins Gold in Samarkand
- Caruana Heads a 12-Player U.S. Championship Field in Saint Louis
- Sindarov Within Two Points of Caruana After Samarkand
- Weekly Recap: Uzbekistan's Wild Ride Through the Samarkand Olympiad
- Uzbekistan Retakes the Lead as So Stuns Sindarov
- Germany Ends Uzbekistan's 7/7 Run in Samarkand
- Total Chess Fills Its 24-Player Field With Six More Signings
- Eight Teams Still Perfect After Four Rounds in Samarkand
- Argentina's 28th Seed Shocks Ukraine at Samarkand
- Liang's Shock Loss and Montenegro's Draw Rattle Samarkand
- Erigaisi Falls, but India's Bench Holds at Samarkand
- Why Carlsen and Caruana Signing On Matters More Than the Format
- Caruana's Italian Job: An Old Opening Finds New Teeth in the Grand Chess Tour Finals
- The 'Curse of the Draw' Follows the Grand Chess Tour to St. Louis
- Sindarov's Round-Seven Win Echoes His Candidates Surge as Tan Survives a Near-Collapse
FIDE profile · Wikipedia
Profile last reviewed September 29, 2026. Ratings update monthly from FIDE.