Entertaining for fans, profitable for players
Fabiano Caruana emerged victorious at the Champions Showdown 2025 played from Tuesday to Thursday at the Saint Louis Chess Club. On the third and final day of the exhibition event, in which six of the eight best players in the United Stated played for prize money rather than points in a three-way battle in blitz, rapid and semi-classical (60 minutes plus 30 seconds) time controls. The challenger of the 2018 match for the World Championship, Fabiano Caruana, successfully defended his lead in his encounter against Ray Robson.
Caruana won the blitz game and the semi-classical encounter - the rapid game ended in a draw - and finished the tournament with a balance of 51,625 US dollars. Not a bad reward for three half days of work!
The Ruy Lopez is one of the oldest openings which continues to enjoy high popularity from club level to the absolute world top. In this video series, American super GM Fabiano Caruana, talking to IM Oliver Reeh, presents a complete repertoire for White.
Wesley So 'only' earned 45,875 US dollars after winning the blitz game against Leinier Dominguez and drawing in the other two events.

Levon Aronian lost the blitz game against Hikaru Nakamura, but was able to improve to third place in the prize money table with a win in the semi-classical game. In a Giouco Piano, Nakamura got a more active position out of the opening phase, but then misjudged the situation or miscalculated and came under decisive pressure on the kingside.
Unleash your chess potential with this dynamic course focused on mastering the initiative.

Two long-time members of the elite | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Caruana 2 - 1 Robson
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
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Ray Robson and Fabiano Caruana | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Aronian 1½ - 1½ Nakamura
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
Select an entry from the list to switch between games
In this video course, experts including Dorian Rogozenco, Mihail Marin, Karsten Müller and Oliver Reeh, examine the games of Boris Spassky. Let them show you which openings Spassky chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were and much more.

Hikaru Nakamura | Photo: Lennart Ootes
So 2 - 1 Dominguez
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
Select an entry from the list to switch between games

Leinier Dominguez | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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