Fabiano Caruana is an American chess Grandmaster. He played for the United States until 2005, then transferred his chess federation affiliation to Italy. While playing for Italy, Caruana was a four time Italian Champion, winning the championship in 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2011. In the 2014 Sinquefield Cup, Caruana won with a score of 8.5/10 and a performance of over 3000, achieving a FIDE rating of 2844, becoming the third highest-rated player in history. In 2015, Caruana transferred back to the United States, and then won the 2016 U.S Championship. Caruana continued his stellar career with wins in 2017 London Chess Classic, 2018 Grenke Chess Classic, and tying for first in 2018 Sinquefield Cup. Also in 2018, Caruana won the Candidates tournament, becoming the first American to challenge the World Champion since Bobby Fischer. After drawing all classical games, Caruana lost the match in rapid tiebreaks. He won the 2020 Tata Steel Masters, and placed second in the 2021 FIDE Grand Swiss, qualifying him for the 2022 Candidates Tournament. Caruana is currently the #1 American player.
Wesley So is a Filipino American chess Grandmaster. A child prodigy growing up in the Philippines, So was a three-time Filipino Chess Champion. In 2014, So transferred his chess federation to the United States, and then quickly entered the world's top 10 after tying for second place at the 2015 Tata Steel Chess Tournament. He then won the 2015 Bilbao Chess Masters and was the 2016 Grand Chess Tour champion after winning the Sinquefield Cup and London Chess Classic. In 2017, So won the Tata Steel Masters tournament and became the eleventh player in history to surpass 2800 FIDE. Since then, So has earned many top accolades, including 3-time U.S. Chess Champion (2017, 2020, 2021), 2019 and current reigning Chess 960 World Champion, 2021 Paris Rapid & Blitz winner, as well as champion of the entire 2021 Grand Chess Tour.
Ian Nepomniachtchi is the current World No.2 and the top player from Russia. He is a two-time Russian champion as well as a former World Youth and European Individual Champion. In 2021, Nepomniachtchi won the FIDE Candidates Tournament, earning him the right to challenge Magnus Carlsen for the World Championship title. In March of 2022, he then won the FIDE Candidates Tournament again. He recently faced Chinese GM Ding Liren in the 2023 World Championship match, but unfortunately, the Russian GM lost in the fourth and final rapid tiebreak game of the event.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is an French chess Grandmaster. Often referred to as MVL, he came to prominence in 2009 after winning the title of World Junior Chess Champion. He is currently the No. 1 ranked player in France as well as a three-time French champion (2007, 2011, shared in 2012). He is also a four-time winner of the Biel Grandmaster Tournament (2009, 2013, 2014, 2015) and a former World Junior Champion (2009). MVL has been part of the Grand Chess Tour since 2015, and have made impressive accomplishments including winning the 2017 Sinquefield Cup, 2021 Croatia Grand Chess Tour, and 2021 Sinquefield Cup.
Alireza Firouzja is an Iranian-French chess player. He won the Iranian Chess Championship at the age of 12 and earned the Grandmaster title at the age of 14. Firouzja won the Iranian Chess Championship for a second time in 2019, and competed in the World Team Chess Championship with Iran. In 2021, Firouzja became a French citizen and started to play under the French chess federation. He later won the 2021 FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament, qualifying for the Candidates Tournament 2022.
Levon Aronian is an Armenian American chess Grandmaster. A chess prodigy, he earned the title of grandmaster in 2000 at age 17. Aronian was the World Rapid Chess Champion in 2009 and World Blitz Chess Champion in 2010. He won the Chess World Cup in 2005 and 2017, and currently is the only player to win the tournament twice. Aronian has also led the Armenian national team to three gold medals in Chess Olympiads (2006, 2008, 2012) as well as to gold at the World Team Chess Championship in 2011. In 2014, he achieved his peak rating of 2830, making him the fourth highest rated player in history. Since then, Aronian has won the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz twice (2017, 2019), 2018 sinquefield Cup, and 2019 Superbet Rapid & Blitz. In 2021, Aronian officially transferred his chess federation to the United States, making him the 2nd highest rated American player.
Richard Rapport is a Hungarian chess grandmaster who earned his title at the tender age of 13 years, 11 months and 6 days. He is currently the top rated player in Hungary and was rated as the number 1 junior in the world before he graduated to the senior ranks in December 2016. Then in 2017, he won the Hungarian Chess Championship. Rapport's latest achievement is winning the second leg of the 2022 FIDE Grand Prix, qualifying him for the 2022 Candidates Tournament.
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov is an Azerbaijian chess Grandmaster. He is a two-time World Junior Champion (2003 and 2005) and a three-time European Team Champion (2009, 2013, 2017) with Azerbaijan. Mamedyarov was World Rapid Chess Champion in 2013. Mamedyarov represented his country at the 2012 Chess Olympiad and received a gold medal on the third board. GM Mamedyarov is also a two-time winner of the Tal Memorial (2010 and 2014) and Shamkir Chess (2016 and 2017) tournaments. In 2018, he won the Biel Chess Festival after defeating Magnus Carlsen and tied for second place in the Candidates Tournament. In 2021, he joined the Grand Chess Tour and won the 2021 Superbet Chess Classic.
Leinier Dominguez is a Cuban American chess Grandmaster. He is a 5 time Cuban Chess Champion (2002, 2003, 2006, 2012, 2016) who completed his transfer to the United States Chess Federation in 2018, and is currently the 4 highest rated American player in the world. Dominguez won the 2008 World Blitz Championship, and won the 2013 FIDE Grand Prix. In 2019, he earned second place in the U.S. Chess Championship and was co-winner of the Netanya Masters in Israel.
