There used to be a buzz around the board of this boy at the FIDE World Cup in Goa last November. Not because he had turned 12 the previous month. He was racing towards rewriting chess history. The attention was on him.
Faustino Oro’s tournament ended in a tie-breaker in the second round against India’s Vidit Gujrathi, but the Argentine prodigy is back and making headlines in the Challengers section of the Tata Steel chess competition in Wijk Aan Zee.
In the Masters segment featuring the top guns, defending champion and world No. 8 R Praggnanandhaa is at the bottom with zero points from two rounds. Home favourite and No. 6 Anish Giri is second last with half-a-point. Yet, all eyes are on the Challengers. Although not from this event, Oro has a chance of becoming the youngest-ever Grandmaster.
Chasing a third and final GM norm, Oro defeated Dutch GM Erwin L’Ami in the second round to move to 1.5 points. He can’t secure the third norm in this competition because it has to come from an ‘open’ event. Called the Wimbledon of Chess, the annual gathering in Wijk Aan Zee is a ‘closed’ one.
Abhimanyu Mishra of the USA is the youngest GM in history. He got the title when he was 12 years, four months and 25 days. As of today, Oro is 12 years, three months and five days old. If he gets to play an open event in the next few weeks and scores the points required, the record will be his.
The boy born in Buenos Aires on October 14, 2013, is already in possession of a few landmarks. According to Chess.com, the player called Messi of Chess is the youngest in history to cross 2500 in Elo ratings and the youngest to bag two GM norms. Both these records were held by Praggnanandhaa.
“My goal here is to win this tournament and qualify for the Masters (next year),” Oro said in a YouTube interview with Lichess after defeating L’Ami, who is rated more than 100 points above him. He is aware of the situation when it comes to his third norm and wants to have a go at it.
“I can’t get the norm here because I have to do it in an open tournament and all these things. I have done it in two closed tournaments,” he said. “Maybe in February (play in an open event), but it’s not that easy to find one. There are more open tournaments in April, but I will try to set the record obviously. I will try and play in an open in February.”
His English is more than acceptable and he speaks with confidence. “I played here last year and scored 3.5/13. That was terrible. This time I have started well. Let’s see.” Eleven rounds remain in the Masters and Challengers divisions played simultaneously at a venue where spectators can get close to the boards. The crowd around Oro is unlikely to grow thinner on those days.
Also Read: Tata Steel Masters: Celebration of youth at age-old chess tournament
