Fabiano Caruana

Runner-up at the 2026 FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship, and the player Magnus Carlsen's biggest results keep running into.

By Carl Brodsky

In Chess960

Caruana reached the final of the 2026 FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship by beating Vincent Keymer 3-1 in the semifinal, then lost the final itself to Carlsen 2.5-1.5. He had chances to close it out sooner: in game three, by Carlsen's own account, Caruana held a winning position more than once and didn't convert it, which put Carlsen ahead for good. In the 2025 Grand Slam Tour season, Caruana finished third overall, with a runner-up finish at Weissenhaus and third at Paris.

Outside Chess960

Caruana, an American grandmaster, became the youngest player to earn the title in U.S. history in 2007. He is best known for the 2018 World Chess Championship, where he challenged Carlsen and drew all twelve classical games — a first in championship history — before losing in the rapid tiebreak. His peak classical rating, 2844, remains one of the highest ever recorded, and he has stayed among the handful of players who have operated at that ceiling for over a decade.