To stand on the German coast in February is to feel the cold creep into your bones. The Baltic Sea sits there, grey and infinite. It’s also above the group of people doing things that give them pleasure on its shores. Then again, Magnus Carlsen isn’t most people. At Weissenhaus, Carlsen added another line to a resume that’s starting to look ridiculous. He won the first-ever FIDE Freestyle World Championship, his 21st world chess title. He did so by making his rival in the final, Fabiano Caruana, remember why their head-to-head record looks more like a hostage situation.
The record books will scream about yet another glorious triumph for Carlsen, while history may not be as kind to Italian-American Caruana. The latter missed out on what could have been his first major title after being active on the circuit for nearly two decades.
He is one of the highest-rated players in the game and has earned respect around the world, but has still come up short when it really counts.
Statistically, Caruana and Carlsen are the two best players in contemporary chess, at least in the classical format. While Carlsen is the highest-rated player of all time, Caruana is not far behind, with a peak rating of 2844, the third-highest ever, behind only Carlsen and the legendary Garry Kasparov.
Magnus Carlsen with the trophy, alongside Fabiano Caruana (left) and Nodirbek Abdusattorov. (Photo: Lennart Ootes/Freestyle Chess.)
This is the same player who once seemed likely to dethrone Carlsen in a World Championship match. In 2018, during the London World Championship, Caruana didn’t lose a single match and drew all 12 classical games, forcing Carlsen into tiebreaks.
The Norwegian himself has called Caruana his strongest rival in the longest format, and has solid arguments to back his judgment.
Glory in St. Louis
The 2800 Elo barrier in chess is one of the sport’s most exclusive clubs, so much so that in 140 years, while there have been 18 undisputed World Champions, only 16 players have crossed the 2800 mark.
When the line-up for the 2014 Sinquefield Cup was announced, boasting an average rating of 2802, the tournament was, officially and statistically, the strongest-ever held, featuring the World Nos.1, 2, 3, 5, 8 and 9 in a double round-robin format.
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Carlsen was at the absolute peak of his powers in 2014, chasing the holy grail of a 2900 rating. It was the same year he would peak at 2882, the highest rating ever achieved by a human. On paper, Caruana had no chance. But over 10 rounds in September 2014, he delivered a blow so hard that it is still whispered about as the greatest standalone performance in the history of the game.
Caruana was denied FIDE Freestyle World Championship in 2026 and 2018 Classical World Championship both by Magnus Carlsen. (PHOTO: Freestyle Chess/Lennart Ootes)
This was the period when it started being argued that Classical chess was becoming a dull affair, a sea of predictable draws. This is where Caruana produced a roaring rebuttal as he decimated opponents to register an extraordinary seven wins in a row.
His victims read like a who’s who of the 2800 club: Veselin Topalov, Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Levon Aronian and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. He carved through the strongest field in history, and his Tournament Performance Rating (TPR) finished at an astronomical 3098, the highest-ever recorded in a classical chess event.
By the time the eighth round concluded, with a draw against Carlsen in their reverse match-up, Caruana had already clinched victory in the strongest tournament of all time, with two rounds still left to play in St. Louis.
Nearly men’s last shot?
Among the greats of chess, there stands a Soviet titan, Viktor Korchnoi. A rebel who once clashed with the Soviet establishment, Korchnoi is now remembered as the strongest player in history never to have won the World Championship, despite a career filled with remarkable achievements. In many ways, Caruana is the Korchnoi of this generation. Possessing immense talent and a style seemingly tailor-made for glory, the American appeared destined for the crown. Yet at 33, that elusive major title continues to slip through his fingers.
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Now, with the Candidates Tournament getting closer, all Indian eyes will be on R Praggnanandhaa, who carries the hopes of a nation dreaming of a showdown for the World Championship against compatriot D Gukesh. Yet, Caruana will present a familiar obstacle. While Carlsen has often been his nemesis, Caruana remains more than capable of destroying any opponent on his day.
This year’s Candidates field is as varied and exciting as it is competitive. But for Caruana, it may be his clearest and most direct path to the goal of becoming World Champion. The goal that would finally place him alongside the likes of Viswanathan Anand, Vladimir Kramnik and Carlsen rather than being consigned to the ranks of nearly-men like Aronian and Korchnoi.
Fabiano Caruana is the third highest rated player in the history of chess. (PHOTO: Freestyle Chess/Lennart Ootes) 
Magnus Carlsen with the trophy, alongside Fabiano Caruana (left) and Nodirbek Abdusattorov. (Photo: Lennart Ootes/Freestyle Chess.)
Caruana was denied FIDE Freestyle World Championship in 2026 and 2018 Classical World Championship both by Magnus Carlsen. (PHOTO: Freestyle Chess/Lennart Ootes)
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