By Jennifer Shahade, originall published on US Chess
The highly anticipated World Championship match between American challenger Fabiano Caruana and reigning champ Magnus Carlsen begins, Friday November 9th, with Fabiano starting with White.
The mainstream media has been very active in previewing this match in the past week, and especially the last 48-hours.
The cascade began with a New York Times article by Pia Peterson on November 3rd, titled “Searching for the Next Bobby Fischer, the U.S. Finds Fabi.”
Time was right behind with a profile by Sean Gregory on November 6th, which revealed some specifics of Fabiano’s training program.
To prepare for his match against Carlsen, Caruana spent some time this summer training at Sinquefield’s country home in Missouri. Besides playing hours of chess with fellow grandmasters, he jogged and shot hoops and played tennis to keep in peak physical shape. “Chess requires a lot of stamina,” says Caruana. “You’re sitting down and you’re playing six, seven hours at a time. You’re burning a lot of calories and you can easily get mentally tired. If your physical form is not good, then you’re likely to crash at some point.” Caruana doesn’t stick to a strict diet, though he does try to avoid excessive sugar, to avoid the high and inevitable come down.
In the weeks leading up to the World Chess Championship, Caruana has trained in Spain, where he’s done yoga and swam in the Mediterranean to keep his head clear. He’s also played games for up to eight hours a day. “The goal is get you thinking about chess 24/7 in preparation for the match,” he says.
The Guardian published “How Yoga and Hip-Hop Helped Fabiano Caruana Challenge for the World Chess Championship”, on November 7th.
Also on Nov 7, Sports Illustrated posted a video preview of an intensive look at Fabiano Caruana’s race for the crown…
