Legends & Prodigies: David Anton wins convincingly, Oro finishes third

by Stefan Liebig
9/14/2026 – David Anton (pictured) won the second edition of the Legends & Prodigies tournament in Madrid unbeaten, finishing 1½ points clear of the field. Five wins and five draws gave him a world-class performance rating of 2756. Defending champion Faustino Oro faded somewhat in the second half of the tournament and had to settle for third place behind Jose Martinez Alcantara. | Photos: ECU (title photo), ChessBase India / Amruta Mokal

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FRITZ is more than just a chess engine – it’s a training revolution! Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before.

David Anton pulls away from the field

David Anton led the second "Leyendas y Prodigios" tournament in Madrid from start to finish. He opened with a win over Jose Cuenca Jiminez and remained level with Argentine prodigy Faustino Oro through four rounds. In round five, the 31-year-old two-time Spanish champion beat Ivan Sokolov, while Oro drew with Jose Martinez Alcantara, allowing David Anton to take the sole lead.

Faustino Oro during a blitz match against Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara earlier this year. In Madrid, the Mexican finished ahead of the Argentine in second place. | Photo: ChessBase India / Amruta Mokal

Martinez Alcantara eventually moved ahead of Oro, as the 12-year-old, playing his first tournament as a grandmaster, lost to compatriot Diego Flores at the start of the second half and drew his remaining games. Although that was not enough to defend his title – David Anton was simply too strong and consistent – Oro still had an excellent tournament. His 2618 performance rating once again showed that he can hold his own in a strong grandmaster field. With 5½/10, he finished 1½ points ahead of Ivan Sokolov and Diego Flores, the top board of Argentina's Olympiad team, which Oro will join for the first time this year as board five.

For tournament winner David Anton, Samarkand will already be his sixth Olympiad. He will play on board one for Spain, alongside Maksim Chigaev, Jaime Santos Latasa, Alexei Shirov and Daniil Yuffa. In the final round in Madrid, Anton defeated Ivan Sokolov, the 58-year-old veteran of the field. As against Diego Flores, the Spaniard won both of his games against Sokolov, which accounted for much of his winning margin. Against his closest rivals, he drew all four games.

Sokolov held his own for a long time in the final round. The Queen's Gambit led to an equal middlegame, but around move 27 Anton began to increase his slight advantage. With accurate play, Sokolov still had good drawing chances, but shortly before the time control he made two mistakes:

Round 8

Round 9

Round 10

YOUR PERSONAL CHESS COACH - Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before.
FRITZ is more than just a chess engine – it’s a training revolution! Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before.

Final standings after 10 rounds

Games

B Tournament

A nine-round B tournament was held alongside the main event. Here, too, there was a clear winner: Argentina's Francisco Fiorito finished a full point ahead of the two Spaniards Diego Macias Pino and Pablo Almagro Llamas:

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Stefan Liebig, born in 1974, is a journalist and co-owner of a marketing agency. He now lives in Barterode near Göttingen. At the age of five, strange pieces on his neighbour’s shelf aroused his curiosity. Since then, the game of chess has cast a spell over him. Flying high in the NRW youth league with his home club SV Bad Laasphe and several appearances in the second division team of Tempo Göttingen were highlights for the former youth South Westphalia champion.
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