Chess is perhaps one of the few sports where being highly intelligent is the only criterion. Though people take it as a hobby, reaching a level where you are competing in national and international tournaments is not something that is trivial. There are names that made a debut but never return because beating the established players is the hardest.
However, it doesn’t imply that no new players will break into the field, and there are a few who own the game very well. Fabiano Caruana is a name that has recently come into the limelight for becoming a Grandmaster merely at the age of 14. Let’s learn about his accomplishments and net worth.
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Early Life
Fabiano Luigi Caruana was born on 30th July 1992 in Miami, Florida, USA. His parents, Lou Caruana and Santina Caruana, were Italian and belonged to Palermo, Sicily, and had both Italian and American citizenship. He grew up in Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York, where his family moved when he was still a toddler, and he also has 2 siblings.
His father worked in the finance sector, and his mother was a homemaker focussing on raising him and looking after the family, his parents put great effort in raising him and observed his great memory and concentration skills.
He was great at academics too, and at the age of 5, he was exposed to chess and learning his interest; his parents admitted him in lessons with National Master Bruce Pandofini. Later, he got his training under Grandmaster Miron Sher, a former Soviet Coach.
His former education began in Brooklyn, New York, and he went to an elementary school, but when he was 10 years old, he was shifted to a private and home education as managing chess, and school was becoming difficult for him. In 2005, his family moved to Madrid, Spain, and he continued to receive education through a private education system and stuck to it.
Evolution of Career
His professional career began at the age of 10 in 2002 when he was competing in major U.S. youth tournament and became one of the promising and youngest prodigies. In 2004, when he was about 12 years old, he became the “Youngest American to Defeat a Grandmaster.” In 2005, when his family moved to Madrid, Spain, he got better access to the game and stronger competition. Under the mentorship of Grandmaster Boris Zlotnik, he began competing in European tournaments, and by 2006, he got the title of “FIDE Master (FM).
In 2007, Caruana already became one of the youngest International Masters in the world, and by 2008, he achieved the title of Grandmaster merely at the age of 2008 and became Italy’s youngest ever Grandmaster. In the same year, he won the “Italian Chess Championship,” which he won four times in 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2011.
From 2008 to 2014, he represented Italy in international competitions and constantly won world ranks. He participated in the Chess Olympiad and European Team Championships, putting Italy’s name on the map of the world chess map. He won the Ruy Lopez Festival in 2010 and the Reykjavik Open in 2012. In 2014, he won the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis, Missouri, and put forth an unbelievable score of 8.5/10 and seven straight wins against players like Levon Aronian, Hikaru Nakamura, and Magnus Carlsen.
In 2015, he moved his federation to the USA and joined U.S. Chess and secured first place at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament.In 2018, his turning point came when he secured a win at the Candidates Tournament in Berlin and got a straight challenge with Magnus Carlsen. Although Caruana didn’t win, he gave tough competition, and his performance was widely appreciated. In 2020, he won the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aa Zee and represented the U.S. National Teams at the Chess Olympiad.
In 2022, he competed again in the Candidates Tournament, but didn’t secure the win. He continued his participation in elite events like the US Chess Championship, Superbet Chess Classic, and Grand Chess Tour. In 2023 and 2024, he performed great at the Grand Chess Tour events and maintained his position in top-three world ranking. He also won the U.S. Chess Championship in 2023.
As of 2025, he is maintaining his top positions and actively participating in championships and events.
Shot to Fame
Fabiano Caruana shot to international fame when he showed a great performance at Sinquefield Cup in 2014 with an unbelievable score of 8.5/10 and seven straight wins against players like Levon Aronian, Hikaru Nakamura, and Magnus Carlsen.
Relationships
Based on the recent reports, there is no information available about his romantic relationships, marriage, and kids is available anywhere.
Major Sources of Income and Net Worth
As with most of the credible sources, Fabiano Caruana’s net worth is about $13 million, which he earned by winning tournament prizes, sponsorships, and endorsements.
