Fabiano Caruana's 60 Memorable Games--By Andrew Soltis: A Review

Andrew Soltis, Fabiano Caruana: 60 Memorable Games. London: Batsford, 2022. Paper. 442 pgs. $24.99. U.S.

“Fabianistas”—devoted fans of Fabiano Caruana—will delight in this splendid collection of 60 of Caruana’s "memorable games." These are accompanied by a fine Introduction, games’ analyses, and perceptive strategic and tactical comments by International Grandmaster, Andy Soltis. The book is a treasure for studying Caruana’s amazing chess career and his approaches to play. We are also treated to Caruana’s comments along the way, both generally and specifically on the game at hand.

Caruana (b. 1992) was a chess prodigy who became a Grandmaster at the age of 14 years, 11 months, and 20 days. This made him, then, “the youngest-ever American GM,” replacing Hikaru Nakamura. Soltis quotes Caruana as saying, “Yeah, actually, I did want to break his record” (45).

Caruana was growing up in Brooklyn. But his family moved to Europe to help him fulfill his decision at 12 years of age to become a professional chess player (7). For long periods he has held a number 2 ranking as the second best chess player in the world—just below Magnus Carlsen. He reached the number 2 position in late 2014 and remained there until mid-2015 (his rating then dipping to below 2800). But Caruana surged again in mid-2018 when he “reoccupied second place and closed in on Magnus Carlsen” (229). In their 2018 title match, Caruana lost to Carlsen, since the match ended in a tie, with draws in all 12 games. Carlsen said after the match that Caruana had now earned the right to call himself Carlsen’s equal. After the match, Caruana began to enter into the next world championship cycle. But this was not until he took a bit of a rest from the tournaments and matches which had been so pressing on him. Caruana said, “I didn’t look at chess for, like, two months after the match” (371).

The Caruna-Carlsen competition has been intense. Caruana played 56 games against Carlsen before their match in 2018. In the next three years, Caruana played 54 games with Carlsen. (391) During 2020, when “over the board” games were limited, in rapid tournaments and blitz tournaments, the two faced off 23 times in online games (408).

Soltis presents Caruana’s games in chronological order (2002-2021) so we gain an overall sense of the ups—and downs—of his career. The book features indices of Opponents, Openings, an ECO Opening Index, Index of Middlegame Themes, and an Index of Endgames. These features certainly enhance the usefulness of the book as a tool for study, presenting a number of dimensions which are helpful to readers.

Also helpful in setting the contexts for the 60 games is Soltis’ Introduction, “The Caruana Difference.” Here Soltis explores ways Caruana is different from Carlsen and Kasparov as well as from his rivals Ian Nepomniachtchi and Hikaru Nakamura. This discussion provides significant insight into Fabiano Caruana, complete with illustrations from his games. Here are some highlights.

Concrete Plus. Caruana relies on calculation to choose his moves; compared to Carlsen who is “more intuitive than ‘concrete.’” (8).

No Clone. Caruana has been called another “son of Fritz.” But from the start of his success, Caruana has “made moves that few machines would recommend" (9). Caruana is intensely dedicated. Soltis says Carlsen is “easily bored. There are days he doesn’t look at all at chess” (10). But Caruana has strong “self-discipline” and concentration—for as long as it takes to understand a position. Yuri Razuvaev, one of Caruana’s Grandmaster trainers, said: “Caruana’s concentration does not wane in six hours of studying” (10).

Believing the Board. Caruana is guided by what he sees on the board. “If the pieces and pawns tell him he is justified in taking risks, he may. Otherwise, he probably won’t,” says Soltis (10).

Disciplined Nerves. By age 18, Caruana had “learned to manage his nerves, his emotions and his clock” (13). Time pressure in tournaments “can be debilitating,” Caruana said, “but if you can deal with it, it can be motivating.” An example was Caruana’s win vs. Kramnik (Berlin 2018), in the fourth round of the Candidates tournament. Caruana was able to take advantage of a Kramnik blunder to win. But he later acknowledged: “There was no moment when it wasn’t incredibly tense” (14).

Discomfort Zone. Caruana is always on the look-out for moves that will make it harder for his opponent to find good moves. Wrote Soltis: “He wants to push his opponent out of his comfort zone” (14). In a game against Nakamura (Stavanger 2017), Caruana’s 15th move—which he thought was no better than some other moves—made it harder for his opponent “to navigate the maze of options over the board.” As this played out, “Nakamura quickly erred and lost” (15).

Little Moves. Caruana has “extraordinary patience. It is best illustrated by his quiet, innocuous-looking moves.” (15). His “little moves” help to change positions, edging them along toward his advantage.

Deep Prep. Caruana “wants to out-think his opponent” (16). He tends to downplay the significance of his opening preparation. But the preparation is crucial. Soltis quotes Veselin Topalov who said: “With the computers we are all almost equal in the beginnings” and “then you have a margin of like 20 moves when you have to make the difference” (17). Deep prep can make the difference…

Wounding, Not Killing. Caruana’s “most evident flaw,” writes Soltis, is “an occasional failure to deliver the knockout blow” (18). This happened twice in the 2018 World Championship match. He “wounded Carlsen. He didn’t kill him.” These situations happen for Caruana. But, as in a game against Firouzja at Wijk aan Zee (2021) which ended in a draw, Caruana missed the best path. He “wanted to be certain and his calculation couldn’t find certainty” (19).

Emotional Stamina. Caruana has what Bent Larsen called “emotional stamina” (19). He takes disappointments well (19). Soltis writes that "he readily concedes when he is outplayed and when he doesn't know exactly how it happened." But he is subject to mood swings, ranging from “elation and seeing himself as world champion after a significant win to wanting to quit chess completely after a disastrous tournament,” his friend told a journalist (19). Caruana knows “luck” tends to balance out. He accepts his mistakes. After the Moscow 2016 Candidates tournament, Caruana said: “I saved some truly awful positions.” Then he added: “And I saved some truly awful positions for my opponents as well” (20).

First Moves. When Caruana learned chess, he was so tiny that “his feet could not reach the floor when he sat in a tournament chair. Instead, he sat hunched up on his knees” (20). Caruana came to be coached by Bruce Pandolfini, “the best-known chess teacher in America” (20). Pandolfini said Caruana’s “greatest strength is that he has the courage of his convictions. He is stubborn and sticks to his ideas, come hell or high water.” But, Pandolfini noted, “that serves him well in tournament play—you need to believe in yourself. But it makes him harder to teach." By the time Caruana was 9, he was studying with Miron Sher. His rating broke 2000. But his family spent $70,000 a year for Fabiano’s chess (21). The early “first moves” of instruction helped set Caruana’s course.

Soviet School. Caruana’s first foreign teacher was Boris Zlotnik. Zlotnik was a Soviet émigré and had attended the same chess classes as Anatoly Karpov, given by Mikhail Botvinnik. When Zlotnik met Caruana’s parents in December 2004 in Madrid, he asked the parents where Fabiano would be going to school. They replied: “We want Fabiano to become a professional chessplayer and therefore he will not go" (22). As Caruana moved on, he had other Soviet-trained teachers. From these experiences, Caruana said: “I inherited their work ethic, which is pretty good." Pandolfini said he taught Fabiano never to give up if there were any play possibilities left on the board. Pandolfini did this, reports Soltis, “by repeating a mantra, ‘Fight like Botvinnik.’”

Each of the 60 games is introduced by Soltis, giving a specific context for the ensuing battle. Soltis’ annotations are superb, full and thorough. His comments also brim with practical chess advice.  This book is full of insights. It will help all who work through it to understand Fabiano Caruana much better; and also to benefit from Caruana’s tremendous skills. This advances one’s skill level and also strengthens your own chess play.

Resources

Some resources that detail Fabiano Caruana’s records and achievements:

https://www.chess.com/players/fabiano-caruana

https://www.chessgames.com/player/fabiano_caruana.html

https://chess24.com/en/read/players/fabiano-caruana

https://www.ichess.net/blog/fabiano-caruana/