12-year-old Argentinian prodigy Faustino Oro put his name in the record books after becoming the second youngest ever Grandmaster in the history of chess earlier this week. Speaking for the first time after becoming a GM, Oro said his goal is to become a World Champion. Far more mature than his age, Oro said he knows he has the talent but also understands that talent alone will not take him anywhere.
“Well, I have talent, but with talent you don’t get anywhere. You could be a good player, but you will not be world champion. So a lot of hard work for sure. I train every day like six hours or five, depending on the day. But I train a lot because with only talent you will not get far,” said Oro to Chessbase India.
When asked if he already thinks about becoming a World Champion one day, Oro said, “Yes. That’s my dream. I am far away from it. Well, not maybe too far, but there is a lot of journey to go. So yes, obviously, I am thinking about it. It’s my dream to become World Champion. But I need to go a long way still.”
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At 12 years, 6 months and 26 days old, he became the second youngest player ever to earn the Grandmaster title, after American Abhimanyu Mishra, who claimed the highest title in chess at 12 years, 4 months and 25 days in July 2021.
Having secured his third and final GM norm at the Sardinia Open in Italy on Monday, Oro said he is happy to finally become a Grandmaster.
“I am feeling very, very good. Happy with the tournament, and obviously I am getting my last norm, so now I am a GM. Really, really happy. I have to say, today’s game was not good, but I am happy in general with the tournament and getting my last GM norm,” he said.
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When asked if he ever imagined becoming the world’s second youngest Grandmaster, Oro said, “When I started, for sure not. But maybe one or two years ago, I could imagine it. But for sure, when I started, I just didn’t imagine this, even in the best scenario.”
While all he wants to enjoy his chess, the next goal for Oro, nicknamed the ‘Messi of Chess’, is to reach the 2600 rating mark. He said, “I just try to play my best chess and enjoy it, which I think is the most important thing. Because if you don’t enjoy it, why do you play? I need to keep playing and keep improving. The next goal is 2600.”
The boy from Buenos Aires holds the record as the first under-12 in chess history to be rated over 2500. He had previously broken the record for the world’s youngest International Master in June 2024, achieving his final norm at the age of 10 years, 8 months and 16 days. However, his IM record has since been surpassed by 10-year-old Roman Shogdzhiev from Russia, who achieved the feat at just 10 years, 3 months and 21 days, a full five months younger.
Oro was already guaranteed a GM norm ahead of the final round when he was paired against two-time Candidates winner Ian Nepomniachtchi.
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The Argentine pre-teen revealed he was not nervous about the result, considering he had already secured the norm, but nervous energy crept in while facing Nepo. “I was not too nervous because I already got the norm. Obviously a bit nervous playing against Nepo, but the other day I was more nervous than today. Today was like any other day, we can say,” he said.
In March earlier this year, Oro came within just one win of becoming the youngest ever GM, but a loss in the final round of the Aeroflot Open in Moscow ensured Mishra kept the record for himself.
