Fabiano Caruana, the No. 3 chess player in the world, who has represented Italy for the last 10 years, is switching federations to play for the United States. The United States Chess Federation announced Caruana’s move on Tuesday in a statement on its website.
Caruana, who was born in the United States and has dual American and Italian citizenship, gives an instant boost to the United States team, which also includes Hikaru Nakamura, the No. 4 player in the world, and seventh-ranked Wesley So. So is another recent transfer; he formerly played for the Philippines but completed his nationality switch last year.