Fabiano Caruana live Q&A

Hi! I don't think I have been contacted yet. Is there an email I can reach out to? Thanks!

Hi Fabi help guide me on how i can prepare for different types of openings

Hey Fabiano, I am a teacher in a rural school in the KC area, Missouri (and a big fan of yours), several of my students seem interested in chess, but instead of be willing to improve, they never listen and prefer to keep playing awfully. When they lose multiple games, the trend is to abandon the game altogether (and switch to Fortnite), instead of trying to improve.
Do you have any suggestion to overcome this lazy attitude and keep their interest? How did you deal with defeat in your very early days, when you were just learning the rules?
Thank you for your fantastic games, you are an artist, and for your example as a person. You are a true role model for all of us.

Hi!Fabiano! Congratulations on your great achievements in chess! I am a chess fan from China. As the world number 2 player, your excellent performance has been receiving great attention worldwide. I have a question about my compatriot Dingliren, what do you think about him?And as the world number 3 player now, do you think he can surpass you and even Magnus Carlsen someday? And do you believe you can you break his record of losing none during consecutive 100 matches? I am expecting your answer, thank you!

When they make a movie about your life, which they will, what actor do you want to play you?

How many hours per day do you spend on chess?

Hi, my question is about planning. When i play about 7-10 moves into the game I run into a few problems. If it's a sharp game with a dynamic position, should I worry about as much about the strategy part or the tactics of the position. Also if it is a quiet position should I try to look for tactics and then strategy or look at the strategy aspect before looking for any tactics? Thanks for any help you can give!

How did the idea of b4 line against Magnus creep up your mind?

Hi Fabi!

What’s your favorite food?

What is your favorite new function in ChessBase 15, mister Caruana?

Hi Fabi!

1. How do you usually prepare for tournamnets? Is your prep focused on analysing the games your opponent played or are you thinking of ways how to deviate in the openings to surprise your opponent?

2. Would you like your girlfriend/wife to play chess? ;)

Thanks!

Congratulations for your accurate chess in the World Championship match in classical games!

Questions:

1. What languages do you speak and how fluently?

2. Assuming that the World Champion had draw odds in the match how would that have changed your preparation and playing style? How many decided games would have been in the match as a result in your opinion?

3. The game tree of GO is more wide, that is, there are more variations on average per move, yet, the game tree of chess is much deeper, that is, due to the 50 move rule, you have 2 * (7 pieces to take (four with pawns), 7 pawn moves for 8 pawns (minus 4 captures) and then 8 promoted pawns to be captured) at the end of each 50-move section, which is 100 plies in the longest game, that is: 2 * 100 * ((7 - 4) + 8 * 7 + 7) = 200 * (3 + 9 * 7) = 200 * 66 = 13 200 plies in the longest imaginable game. Do you agree with me when I say that chess is much more complicated than go, but we reach our calculating horizon in chess more quickly? Is this the reason why engines had a more difficult time beating GO players than chess players?

4. I personally tried Chaturanga and am a fan of it. Would you play Chaturanga tournaments if they were organized?

5. Chess players often assume that White has an advantage at the starting position due to the extra tempo. Some think the best chess game is a draw. Would you be surprised in the imaginary scenario when chess would be solved and it would turn out that the perfect game is a Black win, ending in zugzwang?

Thank you and good luck!

Do you think white has enough for the pawn after the moves 1. Nh3, e5 2. g3, d5 3.f4, Bxh3 4. Bxh3, exf4 5. d4
I have a very good score with this line even against titled players. Though normally in blitz. My only classical game ended a draw against an IM though I was winning most of the game and somehow managed to turn a +5 position into a draw when I failed to convert an extra exchange in the endgame. Most people are sceptical of the compensation but I would really appreciate if a top class player could ensure me that there is some merit to this line

Hi Fabiano

I used to be rated about 2050 FIDE Elo around 2005. But due to health issues and lack of practice, my rating has come down to 1750. Can a 39-year-old like me hope to improve my level and if so, what is the best way to improve my chess so that I can regain my former level at the least? Do I need to focus more on play and analysis or position play or something else?

Wish you all the best for your future chess endeavours.

Hello Fabiano, are there any ideas that you like for how to decide the Classical World Championship solely by classical games or do you like the current system the way it is?

Hi Fabiano,

Congratulations on the great fight you offered to Magnus... you will surely get another crack at the title.
I am an amateur enthusiast and cannot devote more than a few hours a week for chess. I play a couple of openings as white (Spanish, King's gambit and Sicilian Yugoslav if black plays c5) and I know a couple of openings as black against e4 (Sicilian, Spanish) and d4 (Nimzo).

1. As the next step, should I look into my openings in more detail and study more variations to get a feel for the middle game after these openings OR should I look at other openings to broaden my knowledge and understand more pawn structures? What would be more beneficial to my chess development? I have a Fritz 12 program to help me along.

2. There are several online sites (including chessbase) where we can now practise solving tactical puzzles. Does this activity improve chess knowledge in the long run? I have tried this and it definitely improves my ability to spot tactics quickly, but I have found that a few days without practice and the benefit seems to disappear!

3. The AlphaGo experiment and artificial intelligence interest me tremendously. The fact that some program was fed just the chess rules and then played itself to learn quickly and beat leading engines appears to be a miracle to me. Could you share your thoughts on this recent development?

Best of luck to you in your quest for chess glory!

Heya Fabiano.

What's your favorite chess problem of all time?

Hello Fabi congratulations for your chess fighting spirit!

What do you think is your 2 best games of chess and why you choose them ?

Hi Fabiano,
Chess engines are developing too quickly...
Do you think chess can be solved in near future?
Thanks

Hi Fabiano... My rating is 1997 and I'm looking for some tips for improving my gameplay. I wonder how super GMs like you can play so well...

Have you looked at AlphaZero games and any comment on the focus on open lines/diagonals and attacking opportunities prioritized over pawns/material? Do you think chess will move to such attacking mode again with the advent of AlphaZero?

Rules are rules but do you think your defeat by Carlsen on tie break make you feel you are not beaten in classic chess hence equal in classical chess?

Hi Fabi,
In spite of doing extensive calculation at home, sometimes I make silly mistakes or blunder in a tournament game. How do I avoid blunders? Thanks.

I come in time pressure in almost every game. I feel that I am rechecking the variations again and again. Do you have any suggestions to stop doing that?

Thank you and good luck for your next tournaments!

Hi Fabiano! I have read in one of your interviews that you were searching for Zen like calm. Which techniques did you practice to make you calmer? Also did it help you in handling the pressure in the world championship match?

Thanks!

Greetings Fabiano! What is your daily chess routine like?

Hi Fabi! My question is this- how does one improve his/her Endgame technique? Any specific practices or books one can use to do so? Thanks and best wishes for Candidates 2020!!

How many opening tabyia(s) are necessary to become 2500 GM?
How many opening tabyia do you know/use?

Do you have any pregame rituals?
I'm a big fan, Fabi!

Hi Fabi!

Any plans to make some chess lessons videos? Chessbase DVD?

Best!

Greetings GM Caruana!

I would like to know who was your "chess hero" while you were learning chess in your youth? What were some of your favorite books?

Prior to 2006, the World Championship didn't use rapid tie-breaks. Now, three of the past five matches have been decided in rapid play. As an expert on these things, would you prefer to have a different tiebreak system? Perhaps keep playing Classical until the next win, or would you give the champion traditional draw-odds? Thanks.

First of all, thanks for doing this. My question is: Would you like to see Brilliancy Prizes come back to high-level chess? Would it give people having a poor tournament something to play for?

Greetings GM Fabiano, can you give an estimate of how many tournament games you’ve played so far since becoming a GM ? From IM to GM? Before IM? Would have like to ask this to Carlsen and compare answers. Perhaps Chessbase can help but I have no access.

As a “club-level player,” what two openings against P-K4 and P-Q4 should I (as black) master?

Is there any chessplayer in history that you find particularly interesting? (Not necessarily the strongest). At your level is it hard to find any more mystery in the past players?

Hi Fabi, do you super GMs remember deep opening lines? Can you suggest some tricks or exercises to improve memory in chess? Or is it one of those things that you are just born with? Thanks!

What is your favorite chess variant?

Hi Fab. If you had to choose one to win. Would it be the Baywatch Chess Team or the Charlies Angels Chess Team?

Hello Fabiano!
what would be your prediction in regards of the short term and long term future of chess software? What level of play will the chess enginges achieve? Will the game of chess be solved?