Fabiano Caruana

Fabiano Caruana will be seeking to create history in the 2026 U.S. Chess Championship. A five-time U.S. Champion (2016, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025), he will be trying to win a record fifth consecutive title (Bobby Fischer won all eight U.S. Championships he played in, but after winning his fourth event he took a year off before returning to his winning ways). A victory by Caruana will tie him for third with Walter Browne on the all-time list with six titles, trailing only Fischer and Sammy Reshevsky.

Currently the third highest-rated player in the world at 2789, Caruana is a former World Championship Challenger (2018) and winner of the 2023 and 2025 Grand Chess Tours.

Caruana has won a number of super-tournaments in past years. His most recent victories include the American Cup (2022), Sinquefield Cup (2023), Superbet Chess Classic (2023, 2024), Zagreb Rapid & Blitz (2024) and the Grand Chess Tour Final (2025). He has represented the U.S. national team as the top board since 2016 leading it to gold and earning an individual bronze medal in the Baku Olympiad (2016). He later led the team to silver medal finishes in the Batumi (2018) and Budapest (2024) Olympiads.

The first half of 2026 was a busy time for Caruana. While he was no doubt disappointed with his third-place finish in the Candidates, he rebounded with second place finishes in two Grand Chess Tour events: the Super Rapid & Blitz Poland and the Super Chess Classic Romania. Caruana will play board one for the United States in the 2026 Chess Olympiad which will be held in Uzbekistan.

With a peak FIDE rating of 2844, Fabiano Caruana holds the third highest rating of all time.