Once again the eyes of the chess world are focused on the figure of Faustino Oro, The 10-year-old Argentinian boy, who inspires sympathy and astonishes with his actions in front of the board; a chosen one or a designated one willing to rewrite the history of the ancient game.
In it Barcelona Chess Club It is the great attraction of Masters Tournament; after five rounds he is at the top of the competition, undefeated, with 4 points, and looking forward to achieving one of his dreams: becoming an international chess master. With a yapa, establishing the record as the youngest in all history.
“The choice to play the Barcelona tournament was exclusive to Fausti, and he did it when he still did not know that he would play in May, the Continental in Colombia, and in June the Festival in Madrid. For Romina (the mother) and for me it would have been better if he canceled his participation because he had played many games in a few days, but he is full of energy, he wants to play and he is confident and that is very important to face a tournament.” , The father, Alejandro Oro, told Infobaeprior to the start of the contest.
AND the paternal hunch was not far from reality; Surprisingly, Faustino Oro strung together three consecutive victories at the start of the competition: he defeated the Spanish grandmaster Hipólito Asís Gargatagli (50 moves of a Nimzo-Indian Defense), and the FIDE masters, Carles Martín Barceló -from Spain- (Sicilian Defense in 30 moves) and Samuel Malka -from France- (Queen’s Gambit, in 70).
“Fausti is very confident, he knows it and he feels very good and very happy; That’s why he goes out to win in every game. His playing strength continues to grow, and analyzing his plays with the machines he has a very high accuracy percentage. He is having a great time” Jorge Rosito from Mar del Plata told Infobae, Faustino’s coach.
Furthermore, in the double day held today, for the 4th and 5th round, respectively, The little prodigy maintained his unbeaten streak and collected two draws: against the local Guerau Masague Artero (English Opening, in 21 moves) and the Colombian Cristian Hernández (Caro Kann Defense in 18), which allowed him to place himself at the forefront of the competition, with 4 points, and position himself only two and a half points -with four games left until the end of the test- to achieve the title of international master.
“Romina and I don’t care,” said dad Alejandro. And he added, “we are not after the record, but he wants the title of international master, and that is more important to him than breaking a record because his mind is not capable of magnifying it.”
The serenity in the voice and the caution in the words of Alejandro Oro, who accompanies but does not interfere in his son’s decisions, bring to mind the actions of Henrik Carlsen, the father of Magnus Carlsen, whose son has been world number 1 for a decade and won the world championship in 2013 at the age of 23.
“I don’t think I have helped or put much pressure on Magnus, but I haven’t stood in his way and that has been important to me. That may partly have to do with Norwegian traditions. But I think chess is such a struggle that the child needs to own the process and the result, if you put extra pressure on the child, I think it is not good.”
But beyond the value of a record and the importance that a child can give to that achievement at this age, the truth is that Faustino Oro is once again, as happened weeks ago in Madrid, one step away from the record. According to the regulations of the tournament in Barcelona, to achieve the 3rd and final international master standard You must complete a performance of 6.5 points on all 9 wheels. He has 4 and has four games left to play in which he should add 2.5 points, 60%.
Although it is a game, and the error is within the reach of any failed calculation, the truth is that Faustino or “the Messi of chess” as the Spanish press calls him, is going through a great moment in his game and self-esteem that feeds hope. of all those who love him. He has accumulated 27 games without losing (his last fall was at the Menorca Open, in the 7th round, on April 6, against the Cuban Ernesto Fernández Guillen). Furthermore, in case it were necessary to expand his record, in the six months of this year, he was a rival in classic or planned games (with a game pace of 4 or 5 hours) against 16 grandmasters, two categories higher than his current FIDE Master. . His score? 3 wins, 11 draws and 2 losses.
To achieve the desired performance in Barcelona, Faustino Oro has four rivals left: three FIDE Masters, the Equatorial Guinean, Xavier Mompel Ferruz, and the Spaniards César Alcalá González and Alex Villa Tornero – his rival tomorrow in the 6th round. In the 9th and last round, which will be played on Sunday, the Argentine boy will play with black against the Chilean international master, Fernando Valenzuela. If he scores 2.5 points in these four games, he will have achieved the title of international master and beaten the record that, since 2019, has been held by the American boy (of Indian parents), Abhimanyu Mishra, who obtained it at 10 years, 9 months and 3 days. Faustino, born on October 14, 2013, could reach the record at 10 years, 8 months and 16 days.
These days mark two months since Fausti – as his family and friends call him – has the support of a group of businessmen, who decided to act as patrons in the boy’s professional career.
“That offer It was an immense joy, that’s why we tried to be very austere; “I think it’s the best way to thank them for what they do for Fausti” said Alejandro Oro. And he added. I did not participate in the logistics of the support program. Faustino was the one who said “I want to continue with the teachers I have”. So Jorge Cori (whose fees are covered by ChessKid), Jorge Rosito, Leandro Perdomo (through FADA) and Mario Villanueva, who give their classes online, were kept. I thought it would be good for Fausti to return to face-to-face classes like he had in Buenos Aires, and that is why the Argentine grandmaster, who lives in Barcelona, Tomás Sosa, was added to the team (a sponsor here pays him for his participation). That is the complete team. With the new training plan, Fausti went from studying from 9 to 18 hours a week.
Faustino, “the Golden Kid”; a dreamer who says without hesitation “I would like to be a world champion.” A star in the making who has license to keep dreaming.
