The Art of the Chess Miniature by Fabiano Caruana

Fabi crushes Wei Yi in Nineteen moves

In this interview with Theophilus Wait, Director of Operations at Lichess, American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana reflects on his swift victory against Wei Yi during the third round of the Candidates tournament. Despite his strong start to the event, Caruana remains grounded, emphasizing that many rounds remain in this gruelingwin at the elite level. He also discusses his shift toward unconventional opening choices and speculates on whether early career victories create a psychological advantage over younger prodigies. Looking ahead, the Grandmaster evaluates his upcoming match against Javokhir Sindarov, noting the player's dangerous style and confident demeanor. Despite his strong start to the event, Caruana remains grounded, emphasizing that many rounds remain in this grueling competition.

Theophilus Wait: After round three, I am joined once again by the American Grandmaster, Fabiano Caruana. Thank you so much for being here. You essentially played a miniature today and won against Wei Yi. How does it feel to have a miniature at this level?

Fabiano Caruana: It feels unusual because it almost never happens. The last one I can remember was my game against Wesley So at the Sinquefield Cup about three years ago. Today’s game was basically a story of one blunder, though he was already getting into danger. I don't know the exact evaluation, but Ne5 was just game over. It is unfortunate for him because he couldn't even fight on; he was down a piece and a pawn in the final position.

Theophilus Wait: This is the second time we've seen you open with Nf3. Is this something new you're trying, rather than your more typical e4?

Fabiano Caruana: I've dabbled with it for some time, but traditionally I’m an e4 player. That’s how I grew up and what my coaches told me to play well into my late teens. But, of course, I’m happy to experiment a bit, and I’ve had some interesting opening ideas throughout this tournament.

Theophilus Wait: You have now had six encounters with Wei Yi, and this is your fourth win against him, with two draws. Why do you think you’ve become a bit of an "anti-Wei Yi"?

Fabiano Caruana: I don’t know. I find him to be a tough player, but maybe he finds me unpleasant for whatever reason. Sometimes it is just a matter of circumstance—you show up and play a good game against a certain opponent because you are on form that day. My score against him has been quite good so far.

Theophilus Wait: Some believe that if you defeat a player when they are young, they develop a psychological concern about playing you in the future. You first played Wei Yi when he was 15 or 16; do you think there is an element of that at play?

Fabiano Caruana: I have thought about this because there are these prodigies who reach 2700+ by age 15 and start playing super tournaments while they are still catching up with established players. I had this thought with Alireza Firouzja as well. I played him many times when he was very young and strong, but I was a bit stronger then. Once our levels normalized, he might have still carried some of those unpleasant memories. I don't know if it's true, but I've considered it.

Theophilus Wait: Tomorrow you are playing Sindarov with the white pieces. He has been looking formidable; what are your general impressions of him heading into tomorrow?

Fabiano Caruana: He’s a very dangerous player and it’s a definitely an important game. In his game today, he looked confident even in a crazy position where he sacked a piece. He is obviously in good shape, and even when he’s not, he’s still very dangerous. It’s going to be a very tough game.

Theophilus Wait: You are now at 2.5 out of 3, meaning just over 20% of the tournament is done. What does it mean to have such good results so early on?

Fabiano Caruana: It’s great to start a bit hot, but it is going to be such a long and difficult tournament with 11 games still to go. Any lead I might have right now is still very minimal, so there is still a long way to go. It's all to play for.

Theophilus Wait: Fantastic. Well, thank you so much, Fabiano, and best of luck.