This month has provided a double highlight for US chess. On 3 October, the US champion and world No 3, Fabiano Caruana, earned the $150,000 first prize at the Grand Chess Tour in São Paulo, Brazil, defeating France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the final.
After winning in Brazil, Caruana then flew to Arlington, Texas, for a USA v India match whose format was designed to bring chess into the sports mainstream.
The audience in the Arlington Esports arena was encouraged to cheer and be noisy. Caruana opened with 1 c3 against the world No 4, Arjun Erigaisi and took control. The US won the match 5-0, with the world No 2, Hikaru Nakamura, defeating the world champion, Gukesh Dommaraju, after two replayed draws. Their third game was a rare case of…
