Supertramp

The United States team that will compete in the World Team Chess Championship next month in Armenia stands no real chance of winning. It is not sending its three best players, and even if it were, it would not have enough talent to compete with the stacked teams from Russia and China. [...] The secret effort currently underway involves trying to persuade Fabiano Caruana, the No. 2 player in the world, to switch to playing for the United States from Italy. Last September, while playing in an elite tournament in St. Louis, Mr. Caruana said he was approached and offered a large sum to switch federations. Mr. Caruana, who was born in Miami and has dual American and Italian citizenship, said he had turned down the offer, for now. [Read more].

• Dylan Loeb McClain, Your Move, Grandmaster. (To the U.S., Please.), The New York Times, March 10, 2015