Argentinian and FM prodigy Faustino Oro, 10, narrowly missed his final IM norm, but broke the 2400 barrier for the first time and, in the process, also achieved a notable milestone on Chess.com.
The “Messi of chess” as he has been nicknamed by the Argentine media, has captivated the chess world with several extraordinary results in the last year, becoming the youngest player to reach a rating of 2200 and even 2300. In 2024 he achieved another record: he was the youngest to get a norm from IM.
After earning his second IM norm at the end of May, Oro narrowly missed the final norm for the International Master title at a tournament in Madrid last week. However, he achieved another significant result: he surpassed 2400 points in classical cadence, one of the requirements for the IM title. “I’m happy I did it. It’s the first time I’ve done it, so I’m happy,” he told Chess.com.
I’m happy I made it. It’s the first time I’ve succeeded, so I’m happy.
—Faustino Oro
It is astonishing that only one player in the history of chess has achieved this feat at a younger age than Golden. GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov, now among the top 10 players in the world, reached 2400 at the age of 10 years and six months, while Oro will be slightly older when the FIDE July list comes out at the end of the month.
Alejandro Oro, Faustino’s father, had previously said that to prevent his son from kicking a ball inside their home during the lockdown he created an account for him on Chess.com, which was essential for the his progress.
Since then, FaustinoOro has become one of Chess.com’s top blitz players, surpassing 2900 for the first time in August last year. “Fausti el pequeño gigante” (“Fausti the little giant”), as his show is called, has since become an official ChessKid ambassador.
Last week Faustino reached another incredible milestone, surpassing 3000 in blitzes at just 10 years old, beating GM Giorgi Margvelashvili with Black.
And if you thought he hadn’t broken enough records already, it turns out he’s also the youngest ever to cross the finish line, more than a year before Turkish prodigy and IM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus.
According to Chess.com research, only five players under the age of 14 have surpassed 3000:
| Title | Player | Username | Age |
| FM | Faustino Oro | FaustinoOro | 10 years, 247 days |
| IM | Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus | legendisback1 | 12 years, 59 days |
| IM | Ivan Zemlyanskii | Prizant_academy | 13 years, 94 days |
| IM | Andy Woodward | philippians46 | 13 years, 316 days |
| IM | Khumoyun Begmuratov | KhBegmuratov | 13 years, 337 days |
Speaking to Chess.com this month, Oro cited his tactical ability as the strongest aspect of his game, which certainly is advantageous in blitz chess: “When you’re young, I think you can calculate better and faster. The the second strongest aspect is my positional game.”
I think I’m stronger in tactics. When you are young, I think you can calculate better and faster. The second strongest aspect is my positional play.”
—Faustino Oro
Currently, Oro is focused on long-term chess, and is making one last attempt to become the youngest international master ever. He started very well with two victories, including one against the only grandmaster in the field, in a closed round-robin tournament held in Barcelona.
IM David Martinez of Chess.com noted that Oro has three wins, eight draws and zero losses against grandmasters in the last year.
In the last year, Faustino Oro has faced 11 Grandmasters in long-time matches. The result: 3 wins, 8 draws and no defeats! Let’s add that two of the victories were achieved in the last month… — David Martinez (@El_Divis), 25 June 2024.
He is just 6.5 points away from securing the title of International Master.
