All posts tagged: Caruana

Fabiano Caruana: ‘I see no reason why Gukesh cannot recover vs Javokir Sindarov’ | Chess News

Fabiano Caruana: ‘I see no reason why Gukesh cannot recover vs Javokir Sindarov’ | Chess News

Published by Webster

3 min readApr 22, 2026 08:52 PM IST With Javokir Sindarov punching his ticket to face D Gukesh in a world championship match after the Uzbek won the Candidates, experts have been predicting what will happen when the two face each other at the end of the year. While 5-time World Champion Magnus Carlsen gave the edge to Sindarov, Fabiano Caruana said that the match will be pretty close with the Uzbekistan native holding a slight advantage. With the Indian world champion not in the best of forms, the odds are stack against him against Sindarov who bludgeoned through the opposition at the Candidates. Caruana, however, said that it wouldn’t be smart to write the 19-year-old off. “It’s very easy to just say Sindarov is going to win, but Gukesh has had tournaments like this—the Olympiad, the Candidates, he’s won tournaments! Do we really assume that a 19-year-old is just done? Like he had a bad period and he’s just finished? I see no reason why Gukesh cannot recover and then the question is, ‘Is …

Anish Giri’s witty self-praise after beating Fabiano Caruana in Candidates

Anish Giri’s witty self-praise after beating Fabiano Caruana in Candidates

Published by Webster

5 min readApr 9, 2026 07:14 PM IST Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri never fails to charm his way with his usual quick wit and humour. After beating American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana in the ninth round of the Candidates Tournament, Anish moved into second place and within striking distance of the top spot, where Uzbek phenom Javokhir Sindarov has almost cemented his place with an extraordinary start to the event. Anish won his second game in a row after beating India’s R Praggnanandhaa in the eighth round. He now has 5.5 points from 9 rounds, 1.5 points behind Sindarov, who has seven points. When asked about his two back-to-back wins in the post-match press conference, Anish, with his usual quick wit, called himself “mini Sindarov.” “Two wins in a row! Mini Sindarov, yeah! It’s my own 50 percent version of Sindarov, I guess,” he said, referring to Sindarov’s four consecutive wins in the tournament. While analysing the game he won against Caruana, Anish repeatedly called himself lucky. When Grandmaster Maurice Ashley pointed this out, he said: …

Has Viswanathan Anand predicted the Candidates perfectly? He had picked Sindarov and Caruana ahead of the tournament | Chess News

Has Viswanathan Anand predicted the Candidates perfectly? He had picked Sindarov and Caruana ahead of the tournament | Chess News

Published by Webster

3 min readApr 6, 2026 01:50 PM IST Five time world champion Viswanathan Anand, seems to have picked the right names ahead of the chess Candidates, if the standings at the halfway stage are anything to go by. While picking Fabiano Caruana was predictable and near unanimous, it was Anand’s early picking of Javokhir Sindarov that was on the ball. The Uzbek leads with an incredible 6/7 (5 wins, 2 draws), before the back turn of rematches begins. His 4-win streak was halted by Anish Giri with whom he drew. And while things can go terribly wrong still, with experienced Caruana, a point and half behind, Sindarov looks like cruising down the home stretch. Anand, on his part, while speaking to FIDE had been quite prophetic picking his favourites from two ends of the age spectrum. “At the other end of spectrum (from Caruana, the second oldest after Nakamura), who stood out for me was Sindarov. He is extremely aggressive and extremely resourceful,” Anand had said. “At the same time I don’t see the usual …

How Javokhir Sindarov out-prepared the preparation master and Candidates favourite Fabiano Caruana

How Javokhir Sindarov out-prepared the preparation master and Candidates favourite Fabiano Caruana

Published by Webster

It’s still early days in the chess candidates, but Uzbek Javokhir Sindarov, just 20 like R Praggnanandhaa, is troubling the big names, with stellar preparation. One of the many GMs with teen Seconds – Sindarov trains with Mukhiddin Madaminov, 19 – Sindarov impressed with outsmarting Caruana with this particular line, playing Queen’s Gambit Accepted, playing literally 16 moves on sheer preparation. Usually, preparations run for 12-14 moves at best. “We worked very good with my seconds and we prepared very well and I checked every line which he can play, I thought he would play GA (Queen Gambit Accepted), I thought I needed to repeat the line and I was lucky to get this until move 16 and everything went fantastic,” Sindarov who leads with 3.5/4 told Lichess.org. All the by-hearting and preparation came in handy with his stellar combination of c6, and bishop takes knight d4 – a move played in seconds, which had he sat down to calculate might’ve taken considerably longer. “It was my preparation. If I needed to think about this …

Catch him if you can: Javokhir Sindarov lays down the marker at Candidates, with resounding win against Fabiano Caruana; Pragg plays out safe draw | Cricket News

Catch him if you can: Javokhir Sindarov lays down the marker at Candidates, with resounding win against Fabiano Caruana; Pragg plays out safe draw | Cricket News

Published by Webster

Javokhir Sindarov defies the very idea of a conventional chess player. He lacks the stoic composure of a Fabiano Caruana, doesn’t possess the sharp wit of a Hikaru Nakamura, and is far from the introverted nature of a Wei Yi. He exists as a complete anomaly. He’s the kind of player who will happily lean into someone else’s analysis, buzzing with energy, always smiling but invariably ready to fight over the board. He is the quintessential new-age chess star. After taking down India’s lone hope, R Praggnanandhaa, in the third round while doing so with the black pieces, the newly minted World Cup winner delivered another statement performance on Wednesday, dismantling one of the event’s most experienced favourites, Caruana, in the fourth round. A few months ago at the FIDE World Cup in Goa, Sindarov captured the hearts of chess fans with his dynamic style, sparkling quality of play, and irrepressible charm. Now, he is hogging the spotlight in Cyprus, tearing through a formidable field and storming to such a dominant start at the Candidates …

Catch him if you can: Javokhir Sindarov lays down the marker at Candidates, with resounding win against Fabiano Caruana; Pragg plays out safe draw | Cricket News

Javokhir Sindarov lays down the marker at Candidates, with resounding win against Fabiano Caruana; Pragg plays out safe draw

Published by Webster

Javokhir Sindarov defies the very idea of a conventional chess player. He lacks the stoic composure of a Fabiano Caruana, doesn’t possess the sharp wit of a Hikaru Nakamura, and is far from the introverted nature of a Wei Yi. He exists as a complete anomaly. He’s the kind of player who will happily lean into someone else’s analysis, buzzing with energy, always smiling but invariably ready to fight over the board. He is the quintessential new-age chess star. After taking down India’s lone hope, R Praggnanandhaa, in the third round while doing so with the black pieces, the newly minted World Cup winner delivered another statement performance on Wednesday, dismantling one of the event’s most experienced favourites, Caruana, in the fourth round. A few months ago at the FIDE World Cup in Goa, Sindarov captured the hearts of chess fans with his dynamic style, sparkling quality of play, and irrepressible charm. Now, he is hogging the spotlight in Cyprus, tearing through a formidable field and storming to such a dominant start at the Candidates …

Fabiano Caruana on how openings are same or different as two years ago: ‘People get bored they then see others playing something, they get inspired to check it …..’ | Chess News

Fabiano Caruana on how openings are same or different as two years ago: ‘People get bored they then see others playing something, they get inspired to check it …..’ | Chess News

Published by Webster

3 min readMar 29, 2026 12:30 PM IST Tournament favourite Fabiano Caruana believes while chess engines haven’t changed since he played in the last of his three Candidates outings, but analysis certainly has. Speaking on the CSQ podcast ahead of his opener against Hikaru Nakamura, Caruana with a tight crop told the C-Squared pod that some things had changed from the last time in 2024. “It’s different because openings are different, you know, uh just opening preparation is very different . It’s different from 2024, even from Toronto,” he would say. The changes are nuanced but could play out dramatically on the board. “It’s still a pretty similar era. Same engines, but engines got a bit different in terms of how they evaluate certain positions but yeah the opening trends are not too different from two years ago,” the American red hot favourite would say. Given the whole vibe of Chess with Magnus Carlsen ushering in the very refreshing concept of “getting bored” into the sport, which pushes GMs to think out the box Caruana …

Hans Niemann, Fabiano Caruana & Vladimir Kramnik launch scathing attack on Chess.com

Hans Niemann, Fabiano Caruana & Vladimir Kramnik launch scathing attack on Chess.com

Published by Webster

Chess.com, the world’s largest online chess-playing platform, is facing a fresh wave of criticism, this time from some of the biggest names in the circuit over issues with points and online server disconnections during recent online high-stakes games. Former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik and US Grandmasters Fabiano Caruana and Hans Niemann criticised the platform Chess.com for technical glitches. During the Chess.com Open event (previously called the Chess.com Global Championship), Caruana complained of being unfairly treated and punished through no fault of his own. In the eighth round of the Swiss format 90-player qualifier, Caruana was disconnected even though he claimed his internet connection was fine. As a result of the disconnection, he was given a 0-point bye in round 8, which ultimately cost him his qualification spot. The Chess.com Open, as claimed by the organisers themselves, is one of the world’s largest open tournaments with a prize pool of $250,000 and offers three direct spots to the next Esports World Cup. Expressing his dissent against Chess.com, Caruana took to X and wrote, “The chesscom thing …

Have the twin St Louis events exposed a weakness in Fabiano Caruana ahead of Candidates? | Chess News

Have the twin St Louis events exposed a weakness in Fabiano Caruana ahead of Candidates? | Chess News

Published by Webster

2 min readMar 17, 2026 09:58 PM IST American World No 3 Fabiano Caruana, who is favourite to win the upcoming Candidates at Cyprus, might have revealed a weakness pattern in his play, as the chess whiz prepared at two events at his home St Louis, the Guardian reported. He is tipped at 5-2 favourite, the publication said. With less than a fortnight to go, Caruana competed at the Saint Louis Masters and the American Cup. While he stayed undefeated 7/9 at the former, the double elimination knockout format of the second tournament did him in. Guardian reported he lost to Wesley So and Levon Aronian in similar fashion, winning the first classical game with White, losing the second with Black, then losing the speed tie-break 1.5-2.5. Both defeats, it was reported, followed a pattern. Guardian noted that Caruana was gradually ground down in middle games and endgames without queens, a “weakness” – that might be exploited at the Candidates due to take place at the Cap St Georges Resort, Pegeia, Cyprus, from 29 March …

Fabiano Caruana on Gukesh’s form: ‘It’s concerning, but he’s still a top player regardless of few bad months’ | Chess News

Fabiano Caruana on Gukesh’s form: ‘It’s concerning, but he’s still a top player regardless of few bad months’ | Chess News

Published by Webster

2 min readMar 4, 2026 08:16 PM IST World champion D Gukesh has experienced a slump in his form in 13 months since becoming the youngest world champion in chess history. At the year’s second classical event in Prague, Gukesh is currently winless after six games, losing three games and drawing the remaining three. Some of those defeats have come after uncharacteristic blunders while Gukesh has repeatedly found himself in time trouble in games. Fabiano Caruana, who will be competing at the Candidates tournament in Cyprus later this month to earn a shot at challenging Gukesh in the World Chess Championship later in the year, believes that the 19-year-old’s slump in results is concerning. But he said he still would not read too much into the results for either Gukesh or the other two Indians (Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi). “In particular for Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, and Arjun, I think they’ll be top players for many years or decades to come, so I don’t read too much into it. For Gukesh, it’s, of course, concerning because he …