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Fabiano Caruana might be the man to do it. He is currently playing in (and leading) the Sinquefield Cup here in St. Louis, MO. It's a top event sponsored by billionaire Rex Sinquefield, who has turned St. Louis into something of a chess Mecca in the last decade. All of the best players are duking it out, including World Champion Magnus Carlsen, of Norway.
Caruana will play Magnus for the World Chess Championship this November in London. No American has won the title since Bobby Fischer. Carlsen's form has been in question this year, and many think Caruana is poised to dethrone him.
Fabiano Caruana is a 26-year-old Italian-American, ranked #2 in the world behind Carlsen. Born in Miami and raised in Brooklyn until his early teens, he moved to Italy, where he attained the title of Grandmaster at age 14. In 2014, also at the Sinquefield Cup, he scored a single-tournament ELO performance rating of 3103, the highest in history.
Today, Caruana and Carlsen played a game that may foreshadow their World Championship match. With Caruana leading the tournament, Magnus played aggressively to push for a win, which would both put him into the lead in the Sinquefield Cup and deliver a psychological blow to his challenger a few months ahead of their title match.
Carlsen, playing white, managed to pressure Caruana's king safety in a Petrov Defense favored by Caruana. He marched his wing pawns up the board and forced this dangerous position, with a 6-minute advantage on the time clock:
With massive pawn pressure, misplaced black pieces, and white's pieces ready to close in on the black king, the commentators all thought the game was lost for Caruana. Magnus Carlsen thought so too. In a rare instance of chess trash-talking, Carlsen entered the "confessional booth," where players can drop in and give their thoughts to the camera in the middle of an interesting game.
Carlsen stepped inside the booth but didn't say anything. He simply looked at the camera and held up one finger to his lips, "silencing the haters."
But Carlsen's confidence did not turn into a victory. He missed a defense available to Caruana, and his time ticked down as he looked for a way to keep his attack alive, leaving himself just over a minute to play several moves until they hit the time controls, where an hour is added at move 40.
Caruana defended masterfully and forced an equal position at the time controls. Carlsen could only facepalm, and then offer his hand in a draw.
Grandmasters may play a lot more like computer programs these days, but there remains a critical human element to the game of chess. Just a few years ago, Magnus Carlsen was the young, invincible star who seemed destined to become World Champion, which he achieved in 2013. He has defended his title twice, against Viswanathan Anand and Sergei Karjakin.
But now Carlsen is facing his younger equal- with an ELO rating that nearly matches Carlsen's- a chess star who also seems destined for championship glory. And the psychological advantage going into the match now belongs to American Fabiano Caruana.
Caruana will play Magnus for the World Chess Championship this November in London. No American has won the title since Bobby Fischer. Carlsen's form has been in question this year, and many think Caruana is poised to dethrone him.
Fabiano Caruana is a 26-year-old Italian-American, ranked #2 in the world behind Carlsen. Born in Miami and raised in Brooklyn until his early teens, he moved to Italy, where he attained the title of Grandmaster at age 14. In 2014, also at the Sinquefield Cup, he scored a single-tournament ELO performance rating of 3103, the highest in history.
Today, Caruana and Carlsen played a game that may foreshadow their World Championship match. With Caruana leading the tournament, Magnus played aggressively to push for a win, which would both put him into the lead in the Sinquefield Cup and deliver a psychological blow to his challenger a few months ahead of their title match.
Carlsen, playing white, managed to pressure Caruana's king safety in a Petrov Defense favored by Caruana. He marched his wing pawns up the board and forced this dangerous position, with a 6-minute advantage on the time clock:
With massive pawn pressure, misplaced black pieces, and white's pieces ready to close in on the black king, the commentators all thought the game was lost for Caruana. Magnus Carlsen thought so too. In a rare instance of chess trash-talking, Carlsen entered the "confessional booth," where players can drop in and give their thoughts to the camera in the middle of an interesting game.
Carlsen stepped inside the booth but didn't say anything. He simply looked at the camera and held up one finger to his lips, "silencing the haters."
But Carlsen's confidence did not turn into a victory. He missed a defense available to Caruana, and his time ticked down as he looked for a way to keep his attack alive, leaving himself just over a minute to play several moves until they hit the time controls, where an hour is added at move 40.
Caruana defended masterfully and forced an equal position at the time controls. Carlsen could only facepalm, and then offer his hand in a draw.
Grandmasters may play a lot more like computer programs these days, but there remains a critical human element to the game of chess. Just a few years ago, Magnus Carlsen was the young, invincible star who seemed destined to become World Champion, which he achieved in 2013. He has defended his title twice, against Viswanathan Anand and Sergei Karjakin.
But now Carlsen is facing his younger equal- with an ELO rating that nearly matches Carlsen's- a chess star who also seems destined for championship glory. And the psychological advantage going into the match now belongs to American Fabiano Caruana.
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