GM Fabiano Caruana raised a few eyebrows this week after withdrawing from a Chess.com Open midway through the event, scoring just 2 out of 5 with three losses — including defeats to players rated well below his level. For a 2779-rated super-grandmaster, the results were uncharacteristic.
But anyone who has followed Caruana's career knows better than to read too much into it. This is the same player who went undefeated in the 2018 Candidates Tournament — one of the most dominant qualifying campaigns in modern chess history — and pushed Magnus Carlsen to tiebreaks in the World Championship match that followed.
The timing matters. The FIDE Candidates 2026 begins on March 28 in Paphos, Cyprus, and Caruana is one of eight elite grandmasters competing for the right to challenge for the World Championship. With less than two weeks to go, a rough online open is hardly a cause for alarm — if anything, it may be exactly the kind of reset a player needs before the biggest stage.
Caruana has been one of the most consistent performers in world chess over the past decade. He finished runner-up to Magnus Carlsen in the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship earlier this year, and took sole second place in the 2026 Saint Louis Masters behind GM Mikhail Antipov. His preparation for the Candidates is well underway.
History has shown that Caruana treats these smaller events as tune-ups rather than measuring sticks. When the lights come on in Cyprus, expect the American number one to be ready. The chess world will be watching.
The FIDE Candidates 2026 takes place March 28 – April 16 at the Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort in Paphos, Cyprus. Prime Chess will be on the ground with full media accreditation covering every round.