He signed two draws in one day and was half a point away from being the youngest international chess master in history

The Argentinian Faustino Orothe young chess prodigy, was to a tie to become the earliest international teacher in historyAnd he can get the half point he needs to become a world record player this Sunday, starting at 5:00 (Argentina time), when he faces the Chilean international master with black pieces. Fernando Valenzuela Gómez (2358 ELO) for the ninth round of the IM Closed held in Barcelona, ​​Spain.

Oro, born in Buenos Aires and currently living in Spain, had the chance to obtain this Saturday the third norm necessary to become an international master. However, with black, he signed a quick draw with the FIDE master from Equatorial Guinea. Xavier Mompfel Ferruzcategory 2010 and 2279 ELO, after 14 moves.

And then, already with white, he played a very tough game with the Spanish FIDE master César Alcalá González19 years old and 2274 ELO, and they also ended up sharing points after 48 moves. On the board, in addition to the kings, there was a rook and two pawns per side. The young Argentinian had started better, but the Spaniard recovered and put him in a tight spot until the game, thanks to Fausti’s ingenuity, ended up being balanced.

So, after the double shift, Gold was half a point away from achieving the feat in Barcelona. Likewise, the boy born on October 14, 2013 in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of San Cristóbal, who is 10 years, 8 months and 15 days old, remains in the race to surpass the record held by the American Abhimanyu Mishrawho achieved the goal at 10 years, 9 months and 3 days. Mishra, born in 2009, is also the youngest grandmaster, having already achieved the goal at 12 years, 4 months and 25 days.

“I wanted him to rest, but he wants to play. It will be difficult, because there will be many young players on the rise, but Fausti is going to try to achieve another feat,” his father Alejandro Oro had explained to Clarion from Badalona, ​​before the tournament.

They live in that Catalan city as a family, along with Romina, Faustino’s mother, since at the end of last year they decided to quit their jobs as accountants in top companies in the country to move to Spain, the nerve center of chess tournaments conducive to Faustino’s progress.

With these two draws on Saturday, Oro also remains the leader of the tournament with six points after eight rounds, followed by the Colombian international master Christian Hernandez and the great Spanish master Hippolytus Assisi GargatagliHowever, Faustino’s goal is not to win the competition, but to continue to do his best to continue his development as an elite chess player. So far, he has played 84 days and 30 games at a planned pace without losing. A phenomenon.

Round 1: victory vs. GM Hipolito Asis Gargatagli (2472)

Round 2: victory vs. FM Carles Martin Barcelo (2234)

Round 3: victory vs. FM Samuel Malka (2211)

Round 4: tables vs. FM Guerau Masague (2345)

Round 5: tables vs. IM Cristian Hernandez (2350)

Round 6: victory vs. FM Alex Villa Tornero (2321)

Round 7: tables vs. FM Xavier Mompel Ferruz (2279)

Round 8: draw vs. Cesar Alcala Gonzalez (2274)

Round 9: Sunday at 5 vs. Fernando Valenzuela (2358)

From 5 a.m. on Sunday (Argentine time), the final round of the tournament can be followed via the live board provided by the Chess.com and Lichess platforms.