Fabiano Caruana: Biography, Achievements & Lasting Legacy

Fabiano Luigi Caruana (born July 30, 1992) is an Italian and American chess grandmaster who is the reigning and five-time United States Chess Champion. With a peak rating of 2844, Caruana is the third-highest-rated player in history only behind Garry Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen.

Born in Miami to Italian parents, Caruana grew up in Brooklyn. A chess prodigy, Caruana played for the United States until 2005, when he transferred his national federation affiliation to Italy. He earned his grandmaster title in 2007 at the age of 14, and in the same year won his first Italian Chess Championship, a feat he repeated in 2008, 2010, and 2011. In 2014, Caruana won the Sinquefield Cup, recording a 3098 performance rating, the highest in history at the elite level. He transferred his national federation affiliation back to the United States in 2015, and in 2016, won the US Chess Championship.

By winning the FIDE Grand Prix 2014–15, Caruana qualified for the Candidates Tournament 2016, where he placed second after Sergey Karjakin. He won the following Candidates Tournament 2018, becoming the first American challenger for the undisputed World Chess Championship since Bobby Fischer in 1972. In the run-up to the championship match, he won the Grenke Chess Classic, Norway Chess, and shared first in the Sinquefield Cup. Caruana lost the World Chess Championship to Magnus Carlsen in the rapid tiebreaks after drawing all twelve of the classical games. He proceeded to qualify and participate in all following Candidates Tournaments: 2020, 2022, 2024, and 2026. In 2025, he signed to esports organization Team Liquid. Caruana also finished runner-up in the 2026 FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship to Carlsen.

Caruana represented the United States on board one at the 42nd Chess Olympiad, winning team gold and individual bronze. In addition to classical chess, Caruana is highly ranked in rapid and blitz.