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Interview with Fabiano Caruana

Hello, Andreea! You have just achieved 9,0/9! Impressive result, how does it feel to have such a dominant win?

It feels a bit weird because on paper 9/9 sounds crazy but in real life I just took it game by game and it did not seem insurmountable. I’m obviously really happy for the result itself but most importantly I am proud of the quality of my games that certainly reflects in the score !

When did you realize you can go for a perfect score?

After round 7 I thought “you know what, this is beginning to look like something !” and from then on 9/9 became the clear objective just because it looked super cool and also because I could clearly brag about it like I’m doing it right now :)

Where did you draw inspiration from? We all remember the 8,0/8 Olympiad start of Gukesh or the performance of Fabiano Caruana at the Sinquefield Cup

Yes, I did indeed remember those two out-of-the-world performances. They are obviously more significant than mine but nonetheless it is extremely flattering to be even remotely associated with those! As a matter of fact, I tagged Fabi in my post on X and he congratulated me, as well as Susan Polgar. This certainly adds credit to my achievement !

71 ELO points! This is also a great addition to the trophy and the victory. What are your next goals

Yes I am quite pleased to return to a rating not far from my peak (2373). It looks like I will be over 2350+ on the next rating list, which will also bring me closer to the top on the French Women’s rating list. My next goal is certainly to become an IM since I already have one norm and the rating is not so far from 2400. I would also really enjoy qualifying for the World Cup one day but for that I have to pump up my rating. 

Which is the next tournament where you will play?

I will play in the Romanian league before the new rating kicks in so that will be another occasion for me to harvest some rating hopefully ! And then I have a team in the European Club Cup, so that shall be exciting as well !

I am actually willing to play more leagues so if you’re looking for a 2350+ female player, I am your woman !

The Chess Olympiad 2024 is coming. Your prediction for medalists in the open and women sections?

I will try not to be biased for this question since I am rooting both for France and Romania. There is actually a difference between who I want to win and who I think will win realistically speaking. Let’s go for the realistic predictions: in the women’s section, I think China will clinch the title. Poland 2nd and India 3rd. In the open section, I’m going to go with India 1st, Uzbekistan 2nd and the US as 3rd. If France or Romania were to get on the podium, that would be fantastic though !

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Photo credit: French Chess Federation

More recent interviews

Srinath Narayanan, captain of India for Chess Olympiad 2024
Peter Giannatos about 2024 US Masters
David Llada about skipping Chess Olympiad 2024
Skye Attieh, 9 years old and playing the Chess Olympiad
Stanley Badacsonyi about becoming FIDE Master
Brian Karen on the World Chess Championship
David Lightfoot on the upcoming IOW

Here is an interview with Magnus Carlsen by GothamChess on various topics.

Replay: Anish Giri reveals moves of the “Beach Game” between Niemann and Carlsen

See also: GothamChess interview with Magnus Carlsen / Carlsen – Niemann SCC is the Yusuf Dikec of chess

Replay: Anish Giri reveals moves of the “Beach Game” between Niemann and Carlsen

The timeline of events related to the Carlsen – Niemann case:

The 2024 US Chess Masters will be held during the Thanksgiving weekend this year. What is new in this year’s edition?

Yes, this will be our 4th year running the Masters in Charlotte and over Thanksgiving Week(end). This year we have increased the prize fund to $28,000 and now features substantial women’s and senior’s prizes. In addition, the event is being held in downtown Charlotte this year. While that means a slight increase in fees, the location of the venue allows players to get a taste of what Charlotte is really like!

Fabiano Caruana is among the participants!

We were delighted when Fabiano expressed interest in playing. Fabi is primarily interested in the event because the event is part of the FIDE Circuit which is part of the World Championship qualification cycle. There are quite a number of criteria for an event to qualify for the circuit but we are acutely aware of those and will be sure to meet them.

One of our favorite players, Abhi Mishra is also there

Abhimanyu is an incredible talent. He was a familiar face at our norm RR tournaments before he became GM. I had the great privilege of playing him OTB while he was still in my league! There are also a number of other talents in the event including GM Andy Woodward, IM Ryo Chen, IM Alice Lee, and IM-elect Liam Putnam to name a few. We expect other top juniors to join the event soon.

Where can the players register for the 2024 US Chess Masters?

Players can register for the US Masters here. Players must be master titled to play. Junior (u18) players may be rated 2000+ FIDE or 2100+ USCF.

How about side events for the families and friends of the Masters participants?

For amateurs and non-master level players, the North Carolina Open runs alongside the event and features a $13,000 prize fund of its own. Expected attendance for the open is 300+. GM Daniel Naroditsky will be leading side events such as blitz challenges, lectures, and game analysis throughout the weekend. There is also a $2,000 blitz on Saturday night which will feature a load of top players.

The Chess Olympiad 2024 starts in a few days and team USA is top seeded in the Open section. There is no Hikaru Nakamura, but how do you evaluate the chances of the team?

While I would have liked to see Nakamura play the event, the US still has quite the team. As the top seed, naturally their chances are good, but all of the teams are highly competitive. As usual, it will come down to a few key games. Regardless, I will be rooting for the home team! (and Greece for second!).

More about Chess Olympaid 2024 : Live blog / Participants open / Participants women / All news about Chess Olympiad 2024

Pre-registered participants at 2024 US Chess Masters

The open team of India is second seeded according to the FIDE rating list, right behind USA. Board 1 is for the highest rated Indian player Arjun Erigaisi. Right next to him will be no other than the World Championship 2024 challenger Gukesh D. Another youngster is on board 3 , Praggnanandhaa, and the team is completed by Vidit and Pentala Harikrishna.

Team India is captained by Srinath Narayanan who kindly answered the questions of Chessdom.com for the coming Chess Olympiad.

Tell us about the preparation of team India for the Chess Olympiad 2024

In recent times playing a lot seems to be one of the key factors for preparation and staying in shape. In accordance with that our players have prioritised playing tournaments and keeping themselves active. Gukesh and Pragg have been playing quite a bit including in St Louis. Hari played in Rubinstein Memorial in Poland. Vidit has been playing quite a bit, both online and offline. Arjun has been almost setting world records for being the most active player at his rating range! Everyone comes in quite active and well trained with their own ideas and preparation. We just need to be cautious about overdoing things as this team needs help more to relax rather than to be pushed.

You were a coach/captain of India A last Olympiad. From that team you have Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, and Pentala Harikrishna, while bringing in from India B Gukesh and Pragg. Is this change a step up?

With each edition the Indian team definitely seems to be having a step up. I have no role in selecting the team. The teams are selected according to the rating average of last 3 months from the time of registration. In general I think this is a good and impartial system of selection.

More about Chess Olympaid 2024 : Live blog / Participants open / Participants women / All news about Chess Olympiad 2024

Psychology is part of the game. Does being second seeded, according to the July rating list, put pressure on the team? And does playing away from home release pressure?

I think being the seeding number of the team hardly matters. It comes down to individual matchups, and Olympiad is like an open event. I think having a young team is a bit of an advantage here, as the experience of playing opens is still fresh in their memories. Playing away from home in general reduces pressure but perhaps not in this particular case. Our experience of playing the Chennai Chess Olympiad was great. When playing in Chennai there is a lot of familiarity, home support, and great support from the organisation and the government as well. Gukesh’s historic 8/8 and his win in the Chennai GM event both happened in Chennai. With Chennai, I can also be confident that the organization will be top notch. Based on these factors, we definitely prefer playing in Chennai.

Throwback: Chess Olympiad 2022 final report / Final rankings open section

Besides you and the players, who will accompany you and aid your team in Budapest?

Last time we had GM Vaibhav Suri and GM Sankalp Gupta help the team. It’ll be the same this time as well.

Does the All India Chess Federation support your Olympic journey? In what ways?

The All India Chess Federation organised training camps, covers the cost of expenses for the team. They have built a framework that has been working well for a few years now. The federation itself faces a lot of challenges and a lot of things can be improved, but I think that’s something common to chess administration as a whole.

Have you talked to Vishy Anand? Is he going to support you in Budapest?

Vishy is always a support to the team and shares great rapport with all of us. He is very friendly and always approachable for help and advice. He invited me to his residence is Spain and Chennai when I was less than 12 years old. This is personally with me, and he has a similar camaraderie with all the players as well. But I have great respect for him and I only approach him for things which are of utmost importance and things I can’t solve on my own.

You are now focused on the Olympiad. But tell us more about your chess projects/activities this year and in the near future.

Post Olympiad I’ll be captaining the Mumba Masters team in October in Global Chess League. We are also building up towards something exciting in November about which we will hear more in the times to come.

This November the Gukesh – Ding Liren match begins. Gukesh can become the youngest World Champion. Do you talk to him about the match? What are your expectations?

I feel optimistic about Gukesh’s chances. In recent times I feel that he has simply been playing better. I feel it is a bit similar to the 2013 match when Vishy was already not in his best shape, and Magnus was rising. Gukesh is perhaps not as strong now as Magnus was in 2013, so the level difference is not as big, but nevertheless I think Gukesh begins as a clear favourite. He also showed in the candidates that despite his young age, he can handle pressure brilliantly.

Read more: Monaco, Scotland and Germany break the news / Turkey reports problems / England on accommodation issues / Anish Giri critical of the situation

GM Alojzije Jankovic added Croatia to the list of countries with issues. In a statement for Chessdom, Alojzije Jankovic says, “We were unpleasantly surprised when we got the info from the Olympiad organizers that due to single rooms upgrading we will be forced to separate some of our team members to another hotel, not so close to the one we have got.” However, GM Jankovic adds another level to this problem, “The hotel price which was offered for those additional single rooms, sounded really strange, compared to usual prizes of those hotels around the year. And what’s even more strange, a usual Full board was not included, so the offer for each meal was 50€(!).“

GM Jankovic, who was a brilliant commentator in the live studio of the recently concluded EIYCC , noted, “It’s not a big deal to check with previous Olympiad organizers how many countries have those additional rooms requests, it’s not something new. I’m only mentioning countries with players and captains, but how about trainers, journalists etc. There is no point in dividing the teams… It’s quite clear that someone was quite unsuccessful in negotiating the Olympiad hotels. We can understand that Hungarian ministry might be inexperienced in organizing such a big chess event, however, what hurts me the most is that our highest chess association, FIDE, is obviously lacking some organizational know-how. Frankly speaking in this case, I really don’t know on which level, but hopefully that will be improved in future!“

Chessdom: Congratulations on winning the strong Reykjavik Open! This is one of the strongest opens of 2023 and now you have the title in your hands. How does this feel?

Nils Grandelius: It feels great! It was my 11th start in the Reykjavik Open, so to finally be able to win it is such a great pleasure!

You had a difficult start with draws against IM Ludvig Carlsson and FM Shubh Jayesh Laddha. Then you switched to a higher gear. Is there anything in particular that boosted your game play for the remaining rounds?

I did have fairly smooth victories in round 4 and 5, but for me the real turning point came in round 7. I played a solid german grandmaster who played the Exchange Slav with white in a very solid fashion, but after a very long game I managed to grind out a win in an almost entirely equal queen ending. This really gave me a big confidence boost for the last couple of rounds!

In Reykjavik you added extra 3,7 ELO points, reaching 2662. This is close to your all time high of 2694, which happened right before the pandemic. Now that the restrictions are gone and OTB chess is booming again, are you going to make a run for the 2700 club?

-Yes, definitely! I still feel I have a lot to learn, and a lot of potential to improve, so for now the plan is to work hard and keep playing strong events to improve. I’m certainly enjoying classical chess as much as ever!

A home tournament is coming up for you, the Tepe Sigeman 2023. What are your expectations? Is it more difficult or easier to play at home?

-Playing at home in itself can be double edged. Nowadays, I live in Copenhagen, so while Malmø is still close, and my former home, it still feels like I am traveling away for the tournament. Traditionally, I’ve been doing fairly well in the Tepe Sigeman tournament. The organisation and atmosphere is great, and the invited players are always ready for a full fight. Result-wise I don’t have any special plans – I am mainly looking forward to playing lots of highly interesting opponents. Tepe Sigeman 2023 info here / Live games

You are the author of Lifetime Repertoires: Classical Slav and The Grand Ruy Lopez, are there more courses coming up from you soon?

For the near future I am focusing a lot on playing myself, with some interesting challenging tournaments coming up. Once I get some breaks from tournaments again, I do intend to do some more courses, but more about that in the future. Get Classical Slav here and Grand Ruy Lopez here

A word from CEO

Hello, my name is Lena Miladinovic. I am the Founder & CEO of Outpost Chess. I’m a professional titled chess player (WIM), coach (FI), arbiter (IA) and organizer, and I have been living in the chess world for more than 20 years so far. I was a multiple youth champion of Serbia, and a World and European University chess champion. I represented my country multiple times in European and World chess championships. My huge chess experience enabled me to see the gaps in the chess world which inspired me to start a new chess project and become CEO of a start-up company (Outpost Chess). I finished my education in the Faculty of Political Science. My Master’s degree is also Political Science but here I am in the entrepreneur world. I love playing chess but my other passion is also a sport with a ball – like soccer, basketball, tennis, volleyball, etc. Anyway, chess business is a new angle for me, I found it so interesting, wish you can join my venture by signing up!

About the company

Outpost is a digital and interactive chess platform that connects chess professionals (players, clubs, organizers, arbiters, coaches, streamers) where they can easily find, engage and pay each other. This will speed up communication, transactions, and enhance the organization of any kind of chess event. Chess people will finally have chance to monetize their chess skills.

In short words – Outpost is “LinkedIn for chess enthusiast”, where they can make personal profiles, represent themselves, connect, make money transactions with other chess users and manage their chess careers much better by virtue of the specific chess features Outpost offers. Chess professionals will finally be visible and fully engaged in the chess world.

We are currently focused on tournament organizers. With Outpost Chess, tournament organizers can now effortlessly create and manage chess events, from player registration and fee collection to award pay-outs, all in one streamlined digital platform that takes their organizing experience to the next level.

Features – Hmm what is this platform for?!

Create a profile – represent yourself in a specific chess way, be visible so you can be enaged.

Blog – write a Blog, keep record of your chess life, be popular!

Wallet – Receive payments and awards via Outpost payment service

Intelligent Search – Find your chess bodies: players, clubs, organizers, arbiters, trainers, streamers and get in touch so you can explore more options in the chess world!

Tournament Calendar – Find or Create your own tournament in our 1000+ tournaments’ base

Inbox – talk to your friends, connect to GMs

Registration – register for tournaments and pay participation fee in a smooth way

…and many more, feel free to explore – www.outpostchess.com

We are hiring and thrilled to have You, get in touch info@outpostchess.com

Team behind the idea

Besides me as a Co-founder and CEO as well as WIM, IA, FI in chess, there are 4 more key Outpost players here:

Ilija Dragisic – COO – He has been in business for more than 15 years. He has two active companies and one of them is a start-up; hence, he is my mentor through this entrepreneurial journey. He loves to say that he is a passionate entrepreneur, eager to make a business that will change the game.

Dragutin Miladinovic is our CTO, and also my big brother, who helped us improve our development side. He is enthusiastic about making innovations with his own hands :) He also traded banking system for the chess world.

Matt Thomas is our CMO, he was a chess-boxing champion in 2018. He is also an influencer and a serial entrepreneur.

Maja Borkovic as a Social media manager, with Outpost Chess from the day 1, engaging with the chess community daily which is priceless for Outpost. She is that big secret behind our profiles

Inspiration

My chess life inspired me. Through 22 beautiful years and my childhood in chess, I’ve learned a lot about this specific wonderful world, but I also saw what lacks. As chess gave me everything, I decided to give my best to empower chess by transferring the traditional into the digital world so these beautiful people can connect worldwide. The 21st century is the best timing to start a tech company, also the well-known TV show – The Queen’s Gambit – seemed like a momentum to start.

Lena’s Biggest obstacle

Leaving ego aside.

Future plans

I keep on spreading my contacts in the chess world, so I can learn about market size and chess people’s needs. I have no current plans except Outpost and chess activities. We are in the funding phase right now, so the focus is on fundraising and growing Outpost. Outpost is an awardee of 3 accelerator programs: Raising Starts, SmartStart and now Outpost is one of the Katapult accelerator awardee. This program will match our next (seed) round from 50K to 300K in EUR with no equity taken, which make us pretty investible. Schedule a call with us to find out more: info@outpostchess.com

Advice

Just start. We’d never have the perfect time or momentum – you can never ever organize things that much ahead. Just start and do things on your way. Step by step. Even though I am a chess player who thinks a lot ahead, this is a particular situation where you should just jump in and swim!

Describe yourself in ONE word

Enthusiastic

Topalov vs. Kramnik in 2006 was the first match I paid attention to. At that time, I never thought that one day I would stand on this stage.

Ding Liren before his match for the World Championship

Chessdom will continue to follow the events around Ding Liren – Ian Nepomniachtchi on a daily basis on the main page, here on Chessdom Twitter and on Chessdom Facebook, while the most curious details will be in the TweetOftheDay section. Starting April 7 we will have a daily blog on the World Chess Championship 2023.