Reviewed games / U.S. Chess Championships 2026, Open, round 9

Fabiano Caruana vs Wesley So: game review

Drawn on 21 October 2026, in the Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Dubov Italian. Stockfish 19 reviewed every move of both players at depth 18, double-checked the sharp moments deeper, and labelled each one from Brilliant to Blunder.

The board after 10.Nxc3, with both players' accuracy
Fabiano Caruana 278494.2
Wesley So 277095.5
Fabiano CaruanaLabelWesley So
2!Great0
19Best24
7Excellent4
1Good2
9Book8
Step through every moveReview your own game

Key moments

The Brilliant and Great moves, and the costliest mistakes, as the review explains them.

10.Nxc3: Great

10.Nxc3! The only good move here: every alternative is clearly worse.

  • Takes the knight on c3.
  • Protects the queen on d1, which was hanging.
  • The next best move, 10.Qxd4, would drop White's winning chances from 46% to 29% (−2.42).
  • 10.Nxc3 stops …Nxd1.
  • Black was threatening …Nxd1, winning the queen for a knight. Nxc3 takes care of it.
  • Trades knights.

20.exd6: Great

20.exd6! The only good move here: every alternative is clearly worse.

  • Takes the pawn on d6.
  • Creates a passed pawn on d6: no enemy pawn can stop it any more.
  • The next best move, 20.Bc2, would drop White's winning chances from 49% to 35% (−1.64).
  • 20.exd6 wins a pawn and threatens Qe4, winning a bishop for a pawn, picking it up with 21.Qxf5.
  • Takes d6 and wins a pawn once the captures settle.
  • It threatens Qe4, winning a bishop for a pawn, picking it up with 21.Qxf5, so Black has to spend the next move on it.

The opening

Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Dubov Italian (C54)

  • Both sides followed opening theory up to 9.Bd5: 17 moves in all, 9 by White and 8 by Black.
  • Theory runs out after 9.Bd5: too few games between strong players reached this position to go further.

Every move

The moves from the official broadcast on Lichess (the game), each with its label. Step through them on the board for the engine lines and an explanation of every move.

  1. 1.e4e5
  2. 2.Nf3Nc6
  3. 3.Bc4Bc5
  4. 4.c3Nf6
  5. 5.d4exd4
  6. 6.b4Be7
  7. 7.e5Ne4
  8. 8.b5Na5
  9. 9.Bd5Nxc3
  10. 10.!Nxc3dxc3
  11. 11.O-Oa6
  12. 12.a4c6
  13. 13.Be4Nc4
  14. 14.bxa6Rxa6
  15. 15.Qd4Nd2
  16. 16.Nxd2cxd2
  17. 17.Bxd2O-O
  18. 18.Bd3Ra8
  19. 19.Bf4d5
  20. 20.!exd6Bf6
  21. 21.Be5Bxe5
  22. 22.Qxe5Qf6
  23. 23.Qxf6gxf6
  24. 24.a5Rd8
  25. 25.Rfd1Be6
  26. 26.Be4Ra6
  27. 27.f4Bd5
  28. 28.Bxd5cxd5
  29. 29.Rxd5Rdxd6
  30. 30.Rxd6Rxd6
  31. 31.Rb1Rd5
  32. 32.Rxb7Rxa5
  33. 33.Kf2Kg7
  34. 34.Kf3Ra3+
  35. 35.Kf2Ra2+
  36. 36.Kf3Ra3+
  37. 37.Kf2Ra2+
  38. 38.Kf3Ra3+

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