He did it: Faustino Oro becomes youngest IM in history

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
6/30/2024 – Faustino Oro scored 6½/9 points at the “Cerrado IM Barcelona” to become the youngest International Master in the history of chess. The Argentine prodigy gained his third IM norm at 10 years, 8 months and 16 days, thus breaking Abhimanyu Mishra’s record by less than a month. Remarkably, Oro has already surpassed the 2400-rating mark as well, and even gained more rating at the event in Barcelona. | Photo: Federico Marín Bellón / El Mundo

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Record after record

At 10 years, 8 months and 16 days, Faustino Oro became the youngest-ever International Master in the history of chess. The prodigy from Buenos Aires scored 6½/9 points at the “Cerrado IM Barcelona” to break Abhimanyu Mishra’s record (10 years, 9 months and 3 days) by less than a month.

Unlike other players who have broken these kinds of records in the past, Oro did not start playing chess at 4 or 5. It was only by chance that he began trying his hand at online chess during the pandemic in 2020. He was 7 years old then — and, at 8, he was already the highest-rated under-10 player in the world.

Known as the “Messi of chess”, the Argentine — a fan of football club Vélez Sársfield — has been breaking record after record since he began his still short chess career:

  • Became the youngest-ever player to cross the 2200-rating barrier at 9 years, 3 months
  • Became the youngest-ever player to cross the 2300-rating barrier at 9 years, 6 months
  • Became the youngest-ever player to earn an IM norm at 9 years and 11 months by scoring 6½/9 points at the ITT Copa Ciudad de Comodoro Rivadavia
  • Obtained his second IM norm at the 2024 American Continental Championship in Medellín, Colombia (he then had a live rating of 2399)
  • Surpassed the 2400-rating mark in an official FIDE list in July 2024 after scoring 5/9 at the Madrid Chess Festival, where he fell just short of achieving the title
  • Became the youngest-ever International Master in history on 30 June 2024 at 10 years, 8 months and 16 days

In Barcelona, Oro had a dream start, as he kicked off the event with three consecutive wins, including a 51-move victory with white over the highest-rated participant (and the only GM in the lineup) Hipólito Asis. Oro also won in round 6, when he beat FM Alex Villa. Draws in all remaining rounds granted him the 6½ final score which was needed to grab his final IM norm. The Argentine tied for first place with Colombian IM Cristian Hernández.

Remarkably, el pibe de oro (“golden boy”, since oro means gold in Spanish and pibe means boy in Argentine jargon) has a 31-game unbeaten streak in classical chess. The last time he lost a game was in Arpil, when he was defeated by Cuban IM Ernesto Fernández in round 7 of the Menorca Open.

In the first semester of 2024, Oro has collected 17 wins, 30 draws and 9 losses.

Faustino Oro

Faustino with his parents, Alejandro and Romina | Photo: Infobae

As reported by Carlos Ilardo for Infobae, living legend Veselin Topalov had this to say about the Argentine prodigy:

I don’t have much to contribute about Faustino’s record because I haven't really followed his games closely [...] but I can tell you that when I was 10 years old I had a 2100 Elo rating, and he has surpassed 2400. Maybe many people don’t understand it, but that progression is really good, and more important than his winning a bullet game against Magnus Carlsen or a blitz game against Nakamura.

The current Argentine chess champion, Fernando Peralta, said:

In my opinion it is the most important achievement of an Argentine chess player in recent decades. I think it can give a lot of impetus to the development of chess in our country. Moreover, it is the undeniable confirmation that he has the potential to enter the world elite. We must congratulate his family for all the decisions they are taking, as well as his coaches for their excellent work.

Now living in Spain, where his parents intend to create a better environment for his development, the youngster not only has a training schedule of 12 hours per week, but also plays plenty of online chess, as reported by Infobae.

Final standings - Cerrado IM Barcelona

Rk.NameRtg.Nt.Pts.n
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
TBPerf.
1
IM
IM
2351


Ø 2316
6.5/9
2351
6.5
9
27.00
2482
2
IM
2350
6.5
9
27.00
2482
3
GM
2472
6.0
9
22.75
2428
4
IM
2358
5.5
9
22.50
2395
5
FM
2345
4.0
9
17.25
2274
6
FM
2234
4.0
9
14.75
2286
7
FM
2274
3.5
9
15.00
2245
8
FM
2279
3.5
9
13.50
2244
9
FM
2211
3.0
9
10.75
2207
10
FM
2321
2.5
9
12.00
2153
TBs: Sonneborn-Berger

All games - Cerrado IM Barcelona

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MoveNResultEloPlayers
1.e41,162,86954%2421---
1.d4944,72655%2434---
1.Nf3280,65156%2441---
1.c4181,58656%2442---
1.g319,66356%2427---
1.b314,17554%2427---
1.f45,87148%2376---
1.Nc33,76751%2384---
1.b41,73748%2378---
1.a31,19354%2403---
1.e31,06448%2408---
1.d394550%2378---
1.g465846%2359---
1.h444453%2373---
1.c342251%2422---
1.h327856%2416---
1.a410860%2468---
1.Nh38866%2510---
1.f38745%2429---
1.Na34063%2477---
1.d4 11 Nf6 27 2.c4 10 e6 15 3.Nf3 8 d5 12 4.cxd5 1:44 exd5 8 5.Nc3 7 c6 22 6.Bf4 4 Be7 1:01 7.e3 4:06 0-0 3:49 8.Qc2 6:16 Nh5 9:15 9.Be5 3:42 f6 3:35 10.Bg3 2:04 g6 56 11.Bd3 2:06 Be6 3:24 12.Ne2 11:53 Bd6 8:32 13.Bxd6 5:48 Qxd6 8 14.Ng3 21 Qb4+ 17:15 15.Qd2 5:10 Qxd2+ 19 16.Kxd2 10 Nxg3 24 17.hxg3 7 Kg7 19 18.b4 3:49 Nd7 15 19.b5 8:09 cxb5 3:10 20.Bxb5 2:12 Rfc8 5 21.Bxd7 6:24 Bxd7 6 22.Rhc1 1:29 Kf7 1:20 23.Rxc8 15:09 Rxc8 6 24.Rc1 15 Rxc1 27 25.Kxc1 1:00 Ke7 1:11 26.Kb2 1:26 g5 2:22 27.Kc3 38 Bb5 46 28.Nd2 2:11 Be2 2:55 29.Kb4 4:36 b6 3 30.Kc3 34 h5 7:24 31.Kb4 5 h4 1:34 32.gxh4 2:37 gxh4 7 33.a3 7:08 f5 3:59 34.f3 1:50 f4 4:38 35.e4 1:34 dxe4 8 36.Nxe4 13 Bf1 7 37.d5 2:54 Bxg2 20 38.d6+ 35 Kd7 41 39.Kc4 24 Bxf3 26 40.Kd4 1:11 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Malka,S2211Hernandez,C23500–12024D35Cerrado IM Junio-A 20241.1
Masague Artero,G2345Martin Barcelo,C22340–12024E61Cerrado IM Junio-A 20241.2
Oro,F2351Asis Gargatagli,H24721–02024E35Cerrado IM Junio-A 20241.3
Villa Tornero,A2321Valenzuela Gomez,F23580–12024B90Cerrado IM Junio-A 20241.4
Mompel Ferruz,X2279Alcala Gonzalez,C2274½–½2024B17Cerrado IM Junio-A 20241.5
Hernandez,C2350Alcala Gonzalez,C22741–02024B15Cerrado IM Junio-A 20242.1
Valenzuela Gomez,F2358Mompel Ferruz,X22791–02024B90Cerrado IM Junio-A 20242.2
Asis Gargatagli,H2472Villa Tornero,A23211–02024A60Cerrado IM Junio-A 20242.3
Martin Barcelo,C2234Oro,F23510–12024B51Cerrado IM Junio-A 20242.4
Malka,S2211Masague Artero,G23451–02024E06Cerrado IM Junio-A 20242.5
Masague Artero,G2345Hernandez,C23500–12024A11Cerrado IM Junio-A 20243.1
Oro,F2351Malka,S22111–02024D37Cerrado IM Junio-A 20243.2
Villa Tornero,A2321Martin Barcelo,C2234½–½2024B10Cerrado IM Junio-A 20243.3
Mompel Ferruz,X2279Asis Gargatagli,H2472½–½2024C78Cerrado IM Junio-A 20243.4
Alcala Gonzalez,C2274Valenzuela Gomez,F23581–02024E38Cerrado IM Junio-A 20243.5
Hernandez,C2350Valenzuela Gomez,F2358½–½2024Cerrado IM Junio-A 20244.1
Asis Gargatagli,H2472Alcala Gonzalez,C22741–02024E08Cerrado IM Junio-A 20244.2
Martin Barcelo,C2234Mompel Ferruz,X22791–02024B51Cerrado IM Junio-A 20244.3
Malka,S2211Villa Tornero,A2321½–½2024A79Cerrado IM Junio-A 20244.4
Masague Artero,G2345Oro,F2351½–½2024A50Cerrado IM Junio-A 20244.5
Oro,F2351Hernandez,C2350½–½2024B12Cerrado IM Junio-A 20245.1
Villa Tornero,A2321Masague Artero,G2345½–½2024A06Cerrado IM Junio-A 20245.2
Mompel Ferruz,X2279Malka,S22111–02024C77Cerrado IM Junio-A 20245.3
Alcala Gonzalez,C2274Martin Barcelo,C2234½–½2024B08Cerrado IM Junio-A 20245.4
Valenzuela Gomez,F2358Asis Gargatagli,H2472½–½2024C67Cerrado IM Junio-A 20245.5
Masague Artero,G2345Mompel Ferruz,X22791–02024A35Cerrado IM Junio-A 20246.1
Martin Barcelo,C2234Valenzuela Gomez,F2358½–½2024B51Cerrado IM Junio-A 20246.2
Malka,S2211Alcala Gonzalez,C22741–02024D45Cerrado IM Junio-A 20246.3
Oro,F2351Villa Tornero,A23211–02024A61Cerrado IM Junio-A 20246.4
Hernandez,C2350Asis Gargatagli,H2472½–½2024D46Cerrado IM Junio-A 20246.5
Villa Tornero,A2321Hernandez,C23501–02024B90Cerrado IM Junio-A 20247.1
Mompel Ferruz,X2279Oro,F2351½–½2024C67Cerrado IM Junio-A 20247.2
Alcala Gonzalez,C2274Masague Artero,G23450–12024E20Cerrado IM Junio-A 20247.3
Valenzuela Gomez,F2358Malka,S22111–02024C84Cerrado IM Junio-A 20247.4
Asis Gargatagli,H2472Martin Barcelo,C22341–02024A54Cerrado IM Junio-A 20247.5
Oro,F2351Alcala Gonzalez,C2274½–½2024B12Cerrado IM Junio-A 20248.1
Malka,S2211Asis Gargatagli,H24720–12024E01Cerrado IM Junio-A 20248.2
Masague Artero,G2345Valenzuela Gomez,F2358½–½2024E11Cerrado IM Junio-A 20248.3
Hernandez,C2350Martin Barcelo,C22341–02024E94Cerrado IM Junio-A 20248.4
Villa Tornero,A2321Mompel Ferruz,X22790–12024B90Cerrado IM Junio-A 20248.5
Valenzuela Gomez,F2358Oro,F2351½–½2024D37Cerrado IM Junio-A 20249.1
Alcala Gonzalez,C2274Villa Tornero,A23211–02024A51Cerrado IM Junio-A 20249.2
Mompel Ferruz,X2279Hernandez,C23500–12024B32Cerrado IM Junio-A 20249.3
Asis Gargatagli,H2472Masague Artero,G2345½–½2024A29Cerrado IM Junio-A 20249.4
Martin Barcelo,C2234Malka,S2211½–½2024Cerrado IM Junio-A 20249.5

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Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.

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