Arcade MateQuick 04
This Grandmaster Lost in 9 Moves
He took the rook in the corner. Then he was offered the second one.
- White
- Fabiano CaruanaGrandmaster from the USA. World number 3 at the time.
- Black
- Alireza FirouzjaGrandmaster from France. The youngest player ever to pass 2800.
- Event
- Champions Chess Tour, CrunchLabs Masters, Division I quarterfinal, game 2
- Place
- Online, on chess.com
- Date
- 19 July 2024
- Opening
- Réti Opening, Anglo-Slav Variation (A11)
- Result
- 1-0Black resigned, a rook ahead, 9 moves
- Video
- 0:43Published 12 November 2026
The story
19 July 2024, an online rapid game: ten minutes each, two seconds a move. Fabiano Caruana, number 3 in the world, has White against Alireza Firouzja in game 2 of their quarterfinal at the CrunchLabs Masters.
The opening is quiet, and the queens come off on move 6. When White takes back with the a-pawn, the a-file opens for his rook. Nobody watching thinks about that yet.
On move 7 Firouzja plays 7...Be4, attacking the rook in the corner. It is the mistake. Caruana does not move the rook: 8.dxc6 takes a pawn and leaves it there. Firouzja takes it.
Then 9.Rxa7: the second rook is offered too, and it is the only move that wins. If Black takes this one, the c-pawn walks to the last rank and becomes a queen. Firouzja is a rook ahead, every move loses, and he resigns. Nine moves.
He said afterwards that he knew the trick, and that in the game he suddenly wondered what happens if he just takes the rook. He won the match anyway, 3 to 2.
Key moments
Frames from the video, one for each turning point.
7...Be4?
The mistake
The bishop attacks the rook in the corner. 7...Bxb1 kept the game level.
8.dxc6!
The first rook
The pawn takes on c6 instead. The rook on h1 is left for the bishop.
8...Bxh1??
Taken
Firouzja takes the rook. 8...Nxc6 kept the damage to a pawn.
9.Rxa7!!
The second rook
The only winning move. Black is a rook ahead, and every reply loses. He resigned here.
9...Rxa7 10.c7
Not played
Why the second rook cannot be taken: the pawn queens, and 12.Qd7 is mate.
Questions
Who won Caruana vs Firouzja, 2024?
Fabiano Caruana won with the white pieces. Black resigned, a rook ahead, on move 9.
Did a grandmaster really lose in 9 moves?
Yes. Alireza Firouzja resigned against Fabiano Caruana after 9.Rxa7 in an online rapid game at the CrunchLabs Masters on 19 July 2024, with a rook more on the board.
What was the key move?
9.Rxa7, offering the second rook. If Black takes it, the c-pawn runs to c8 and becomes a queen. Firouzja's mistake was 7...Be4, attacking the rook in the corner: Caruana let him have it.
Is this the "grandmaster loses in 7 moves" game?
Those videos mix two games. In 2023 Brunello played the same 7...Be4 against Abasov, refused the rook and resigned on move 20. Firouzja took it a year later and resigned on move 9. He still won the match 3 to 2.
How long was Caruana vs Firouzja, 2024, and what opening was played?
9 moves. The opening was the Réti Opening, Anglo-Slav Variation (A11). Played: Champions Chess Tour, CrunchLabs Masters, Division I quarterfinal, game 2, Online, on chess.com, 19 July 2024.
Command list
- 1.c4c6
- 2.Nf3d5
- 3.g3Bg4
- 4.Ne5Bf5
- 5.Qb3Qb6
- 6.cxd5Qxb3
- 7.axb3Be4?
- 8.dxc6!Bxh1??
- 9.Rxa7!!
The PGN file
[Event "Champions Chess Tour CrunchLabs Masters"] [Site "Chess.com INT"] [Date "2024.07.19"] [Round "Div I Winners QF, game 2"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1-0"] [TimeControl "600+2"] [ECO "A11"] [Opening "Reti Opening: Anglo-Slav Variation, with g3"] [Source "The Guardian (Leonard Barden, 26 Jul 2024); MemoChess description; Chess.com day-3 report (nine-move resignation)"] 1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. g3 Bg4 4. Ne5 Bf5 5. Qb3 Qb6 6. cxd5 Qxb3 7. axb3 Be4 8. dxc6 Bxh1 9. Rxa7 1-0
What we checked
Every caption in the video was checked against the sources. Some well-known stories did not survive.
A grandmaster lost in 7 moves.
The many videos with that title mix two games. In 2023, Brunello played the same 7...Be4 against Abasov, then refused the rook and resigned on move 20. Firouzja, a year later, took the rook and resigned on move 9. The count here is nine.
Firouzja was checkmated.
He resigned after 9.Rxa7. The video plays 9...Rxa7 10.c7 Nc6 11.c8=Q+ Nd8 12.Qd7 mate to show why the rook cannot be taken. Those moves were not played, and taking was not the longest defence: after 9...Nxc6 White wins the rook back and is simply winning.
He was losing on material.
He was ahead: a rook for three pawns. It did not matter. The ten best replies to 9.Rxa7 were checked, and all of them lose.
He did not know the trap.
By his own account he did. He told chess.com that he knew the tactic and wondered during the game what happens if he just takes.
It cost him the match.
It did not. Every game of the match was decisive, and Firouzja won it 3 to 2 in the tie-break.
Credits
- Photos: Fabiano Caruana by Eldar Azimov (CC BY-SA 4.0), cropped and cut out, via Wikimedia Commons. Alireza Firouzja by Ahmed0112 (CC0), via Wikimedia Commons.
- Music and voices: original.
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