The Argentine prodigy Faustino Oro, MARCA 2025 award as the best international revelation athlete, has achieved in the Sardinia World Chess Festival (Italy) andhe title of Grand Master at 12 years, 6 months and 26 days. Oro, based in Badalona since 2023, is the second youngest player in history in achieving the scroll that initially granted the Tsar Nicholas II of Russia in 1914 to five players from the St. Petersburg Tournament, including the world champions Alexander Alekhine, José Raúl Capablanca and Emanuel Lasker.
The first two results to be Grand Master were achieved by Gold with his victory in the Legends & Prodigies of Madrid in 2025 and third place in the IV Szmetan-Giardelli Magistral of Buenos Aires in 2025. Regardless of whether he loses to the Russian Ian on Sunday Nepomniachtchithree-time absolute world runner-up, the “Messi” of chess will add 6 points out of a possible 9 with a performance greater than 2.600 Elo after winning with the black pieces against the Pole Bartlomiej Niedbala in 58 movements, after almost four and a half hours of fighting. Previously, Oro had achieved three victories and four draws, in an open in which 160 players participate representing 43 countries.
Faustino Oro in Legends & Prodigies of Madrid
The regulations of the International Federation (FIDE) require that one of these results be in an open tournament. Gold, instead of opting for an “easy” path with the sole objective of breaking the American record Abhimanyu Mishra (12 years, 4 months and 25 days) 2021, chose the most convenient sportingly even at the risk of not achieving the third standard. In Moscow and Menorca It couldn’t be, but finally on Italian soil he won the title. A performance that confirms what Magnus Carlsen, number one in the world for more than a decade, said of him when he invited him to play some games in Oslo in January of this year: “Faustino is much better than what Messi was at 12 years old. He’s on the right track. One day Messi will be lucky to be compared to him.” At that same event, Oro declared: “There are more relevant things than breaking records; “What matters is playing chess well.” Some words that were accompanied by a declaration of intentions: “My goal is to be absolute world champion in a few years.”
Oro started playing chess with his parents, Alejandro and Romina, 6 years old (2020) during confinement due to the pandemic. His talent for the ancient game was confirmed when he became the youngest player in history to win the International Master title at 10 years, 8 months and 16 days (2024). Lover and specialist of games lightninghas defeated online in Chess.com tournaments Carlsen and the American Hikaru Nakamurasecond in the world. His love for chess and his ability to work is reflected by the fact that he dedicates, after his morning school obligations, 6 hours a day playing chess. A tireless fighter on the board, Carlsen has also commented on Oro: “His feeling positional “It’s wonderful, something very rare in such a young player.”
Chess protagonist of the VI Marca Sport Weekend in Malaga in 2024, where he held an exhibition of simultaneous games, Oro has managed to surpass the Russian in precocity Sergei Karjakin (12 years, 7 months and 0 days), to the Indian Dommaraju Gukesh (12, 7 and 17), current world champion, the Turkish Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (12, 9 and 29) and into Uzbek Javojir Sindarov (12, 10 and 5), candidate for the world title, apart from records already distant in time from myths such as Bobby Fischer or Judit Polgar.
BARTLOMIEJ-GOLD
Sardinia World Festival. 8th round.
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Ne7 6.0–0 Nd7 7.c3 h6 8.Na3 Be4 9.Nc2 c5 10.Bd3 Bxd3 11.Qxd3 Rc8 12.Be3 Nc6 13.Qd2 Be7 14.Nfe1 Qa5 15.Qe2 cxd4 16.cxd4 Nb4 17.Nxb4 Qxb4 18.Nd3 Qb5 19.Rac1 Rxc1 20.Rxc1 0–0 21.Nf4 Qxe2 22.Nxe2 Bd8 23.Nc3 Nb8 24.Kf1 Nc6 25.Ke2 Bb6 26.Kd3 Rc8 27.a3 a6 28.Ne2 Kf8 29.Rc2 Ke7 30.Rc1 Rd7 31.Rc2 Bd8 32.Rc1 Be7 33.Rc2 b5 34.Kd2 Rb8 35.Rc1 Na5 36.Rc2 Nc4+ 37.Kd1 b4 38.axb4 Rxb4 39.Bc1 Bd8 40.Ke1 Bb6 41.Kd1 Rb3 42.Rc3 Nxb2+ 43.Bxb2 Rxb2 44.Rg3 g6 45.Rh3 h5 46.Rf3 Ke7 47.Rd3 a5 48.Ra3 Rb4 49.Rd3 Rc4 50.Kd2 a4 51.Ke3 Rd7 52.Ra3 Kc6 53.Kd3 Kb5 54.Ra1 Ba5 55.Ra2 Bb4 56.Ra1 a3 57.Rb1 Ra4 58.Ra1 Kb3, they surrender. (0-1). Black’s passed pawn decides the game.
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Final position