Fabiano Caruana playing against students at a fundraiser for Chess Works! Liberty Science Center’s new chess program for students in at-risk communities.
The year is coming to a close, and it’s been quite an eventful one, with plenty of ups and downs. I ended the year with an unassuming performance in London, scoring nine draws out nine games. I had serious missed chances to win in at least two games, which if taken might have given me the opportunity to win the tournament. In the end my score of 4.5/9 was enough only for shared 5-6th places.
On the bright side of 2015, I qualified for next year’s Candidates tournament with a win in the final leg of the Grand Prix, and overall victory in the 2014/2015 Grand Prix series. I also defended my title in Dortmund with a convincing score and won a match against Hikaru Nakamura, but my year was marred by several subpar performances.
The new year will begin soon, with plenty of exciting adventures to come. First, the traditional start-of-the-year event in Wijk aan Zee, starting January 16th. After that, the main event I’ve been preparing for: the Candidates tournament begins in March, where I’ll fight against 7 other opponents for the chance to play the current World Champion in a match for the highest title.