Luis Paulo Supi

Overview

Luis Paulo Supi is a Brazilian professional chess grandmaster born in 1996 in Catanduva, São Paulo. Official records and databases present conflicting dates for his exact day of birth, citing June 23, June 25, or October 10 of that year. Representing the Brazilian Chess Federation (CBX), Supi earned his FIDE Master (FM) and International Master (IM) titles in 2013, followed by the Grandmaster (GM) title in 2018. He achieved a career-high classical FIDE rating of 2612 in September 2022. Supi's competitive identity is defined as a dominant national force—having won the absolute Brazilian Chess Championship in 2021, 2023, and 2025—and a leading representative for Brazil in team competitions, as well as a prominent digital chess creator and rapid specialist.

Biography & Major Career Milestones

Born in the state of São Paulo, Supi began his competitive chess development at an early age. His junior career peaked regionally when he won the Pan American Junior Championship in 2016 on a tiebreak over Kevin Joel Cori Quispe of Peru after both players finished on 8 points.

Supi earned his three Grandmaster norms through strong tournament performances in South America, completing his requirements by winning the Magistral Acre in 2017. The GM title was officially approved and awarded by FIDE in April 2018.

Supi has established himself as one of the most successful contemporary Brazilian players in the national championship's history:

• 2021 (Cuiabá): Won his maiden absolute Brazilian Championship, scoring 9/11 and taking the gold medal on tiebreaks ahead of Alexandr Fier and Darcy Lima.
• 2023 (Recife): Won his second national championship in a highly competitive field, finishing ahead of runner-up Alexandr Fier.
• 2025 (Timbó): Secured his third absolute national championship title with a score of 9/11.

On the international circuit, Supi has regularly competed in prestigious events, including the Tata Steel Challengers in 2023. In January 2026, he finished in third place at the high-stakes Brazil Chess Series in Florianópolis.

In the digital sphere, Supi achieved viral prominence in May 2020 when he defeated reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen in an 18-move blitz game on Chess.com. The game, concluded by a spectacular queen sacrifice, was later voted by users as Chess.com's "Immortal Game". Earlier in his online career, during a May 2015 blitz tournament on the Internet Chess Club, Supi defeated American GM Hikaru Nakamura, leading to temporary tournament sanctions based on unverified allegations of engine usage. Brazilian chess authorities, including GM Rafael Leitão, vigorously defended Supi, noting that the game was filled with reciprocal tactical inaccuracies standard for human blitz and that the accusations lacked analytical validity.

Elite Team & Event Performance

• 2018 Chess Olympiad (Batumi): Represented Brazil on Board 3, finishing with a score of 6½/10 (+5 =3 -2).
• 2022 Chess Olympiad (Chennai): Represented Brazil on Board 1. He anchored the national team to an elevated 21st-place finish (outperforming their 28th seed), highlighting team victories such as a 2.5–1.5 upset over England and a 2–2 draw against Ukraine. During the tournament, Supi faced elite opposition on the top board, including Michael Adams and Alexei Shirov.
• 2023 FIDE World Cup (Baku): Nominated to represent Brazil as a federation pick based on his high standing and national performance.
• 2024 Chess Olympiad (Budapest): Represented Brazil in the open division.
• 2025 FIDE World Cup (Goa): Selected as the official CBX representative. In Round 1, he defeated Mexican IM Sion Galaviz Medina (1–1 in the classical portion, advancing through rapid/blitz tiebreaks). In Round 2, he was eliminated 2–0 by Richard Rapport.

Playing Style, Material Tendencies & Endgame Profiling

Supi is a highly dynamic, concrete calculator who thrives in tactical, asymmetrical middlegames. He possesses an aggressive attacking signature, often prioritizing the initiative and active piece coordination over structural perfection. His calculation speed and tactical sharpness make him highly effective in rapid and blitz formats.

In his games, king safety is treated dynamically; Supi is willing to castle on opposite sides or accept king exposure if it grants him open lines of attack or pins against the opponent's pieces. He frequently leverages space advantages through active pawn advances, using them as platforms to restrict opponent minor pieces.

Supi is comfortable handling significant material imbalances. He is well-known for speculative piece sacrifices and exchange sacrifices designed to dismantle pawn shields or establish long-term dark- or light-square dominance.

His technical transition into the endgame is highly active. Rather than playing passively to defend theoretical draws, Supi prefers to utilize active rooks and coordinate minor pieces offensively. His endgame strengths lie in converting small tactical or developmental advantages in rook and pawn endgames and using minor piece activity to exploit structural targets, such as isolated or backward pawns.

Opening Repertoire & Theoretical Move Orders

1. As White

Luis Paulo Supi's White repertoire is heavily oriented toward open, classical positions via 1.e4, though he also frequently employs 1.c4 (the English Opening).

Against 1...e5, he is a dedicated practitioner of the Italian Game (Giuoco Piano), preferring the slow positional build-up of the Giuoco Pianissimo:

Against the Sicilian Defense, Supi is renowned for original, custom-analyzed sidelines designed to bypass heavy theoretical blockades:

• Against the 2...d6 complex, he plays 4.Qxd4 followed by the specialized 5.Qd3!? system, creating an original strategic structure:
• Against the 2...e6 lines, he utilizes a strategic development of the light-squared bishop to d3:
• Against the Sveshnikov and other 2...Nc6 structures, he utilizes strategic postponement with 3.Nc3:
• Alternatively, he employs the classical Rossolimo Attack:

2. As Black

As Black, Supi aims for counter-attacking complexity. Against 1.e4, his primary weapon is the Sicilian Defense, alternating between different classical variations.

• He frequently utilizes the Sicilian Najdorf, aiming for sharp, unbalanced counterplay:
• He also employs the Sicilian Sveshnikov:

Against 1.d4, Supi plays solidly but actively, regularly utilizing the classical Queen's Gambit Declined (QGD):

Links

• FIDE: https://ratings.fide.com/profile/2106388
• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Paulo_Supi