Super Chess Classic Romania: Caruana beats Firouzja in postponed encounter

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
5/20/2026 – Fabiano Caruana defeated Alireza Firouzja in their postponed round-four game at the Super Chess Classic Romania, played on the tournament's free day after being rescheduled. Firouzja, recovering from an ankle injury, again played from a bed in the hotel. Caruana gained a clear edge in a sharp Slav Defence and converted after Firouzja made a decisive mistake on move 37. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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Caruana joins the chasing pack

The postponed round-four game between Fabiano Caruana and Alireza Firouzja was played on the tournament's free day, after being rescheduled for Tuesday at 4 pm local time. Firouzja, who had suffered an ankle injury before the original date of the game, played from a hotel bed for a second day in a row.

The game soon became a sharp fight, as the encounter arose from a sharp variation of the Slav Defence, with the kings castled on opposite flanks. Caruana obtained a clear edge after a positionally weak knight move by Firouzja left the minor piece out of play for much of the game. Caruana's conversion was not flawless, but he kept setting practical problems, while Firouzja had to defend for a long period under pressure and with limited time on the clock.

Firouzja finally made the decisive mistake on move 37, allowing Caruana to collect a ful point.

The result brought Caruana into the group tied for second place, half a point behind sole leader Vincent Keymer. The four-player chasing pack also includes Anish Giri, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Jorden van Foreest.

Alireza Firouzja, Fabiano Caruana

Time to play | Photo: Lenart Ootes

Alireza Firouzja, Fabiano Caruana

A one-of-a-kind setting for an elite chess encounter | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Standings after round 5

Rk. Name Pts. TB1
1 Keymer, Vincent 3½ 0
2 Van Foreest, Jorden 3 0
Praggnanandhaa, R 3 0
Giri, Anish 3 0
Caruana, Fabiano 3 0
6 So, Wesley 2½ 0
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2½ 0
8 Sindarov, Javokhir 2 0
9 Deac, Bogdan-Daniel 1½ 0
10 Firouzja, Alireza 1 0

All games

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Topics: Fabiano Caruana, Grand Chess Tour 2026, Super Chess Classic Romania 2026
Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.
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