Mareco triumphs, Oro struggles

Master Class Vol.15 - Viktor Korchnoi and My life for chess

In this video course, experts (Pelletier, Marin, Müller and Reeh) examine the games of Viktor Korchnoi. Let them show you which openings Korchnoi chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were, or how he outplayed his opponents in the endgame.

The Punta del Este Masters Tournament took place from 14 to 20 March in the Uruguayan coastal city. It was a double round-robin event featuring six players, including four Grandmasters (GMs) and two young International Masters (IMs). One of the main attractions of the event was the presence of 11-year-old Argentine prodigy Faustino Oro, who in 2024 became the youngest player in history to earn the IM title. Both Oro and 19-year-old Mexican player Sion Galaviz aimed to reach 6½ points to achieve a GM norm.

The tournament was won by Argentine GM Sandro Mareco, who confirmed his status as favourite by scoring 6½/10 points. Mareco is currently the highest-ranked Argentine player and the sixth among Latin Americans. After securing his second national title in Buenos Aires last year, he reaffirmed his strong competitive form in Punta del Este.

Mareco started the tournament with three consecutive wins, followed by four draws. In the eighth round, he suffered a surprising defeat against Uruguayan GM Andrés Rodríguez in a game where he missed a chance to escape with a draw. Rodríguez reached a winning position and, according to chess engines, had checkmate in 14 moves when he blundered with 51...f2??. Mareco spotted a tactical sequence that allowed him to seek a perpetual check, but in an unexpected turn of events, he resigned the game, seemingly overestimating Black's king's escape options in the centre of the board.

Despite this setback, Mareco recovered by defeating Oro in the next round, securing the title with one round to spare. He entered the final day with 6 points, while his closest pursuers had 4½ points. He then concluded the tournament with a draw against Galaviz.

GM Andrés Rodríguez and Spanish GM José "Pepe" Cuenca won their final-round games, allowing them to share second place with 5½ points each.

Faustino Oro recorded two victories, both against GM Diego Flores, along with three draws and five losses. Unfortunately, he finished the tournament with three consecutive defeats. According to GM Pablo Ricardi, in his report for La Nación, Oro should balance strong tournaments like this with lower-stakes open events that would help him develop crucial skills, such as overcoming lower-rated but resilient opponents. Ricardi also emphasised the importance of gaining experience in handling the pressure of being a tournament favourite in open events.

Master Class Vol.17 - Boris Spassky

In this video course, experts including Dorian Rogozenco, Mihail Marin, Karsten Müller and Oliver Reeh, examine the games of Boris Spassky. Let them show you which openings Spassky chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were and much more.

The playing hall during the Masters

Despite his struggles in the main event, Oro performed impressively in the rapid chess tournament held over the weekend. In this event, the "Messi of chess" achieved a commendable second place with 9/11 points. The winner of the tournament was once again Mareco, who reaffirmed his dominance by scoring 9½ points.

Similarly, Oro finished second in the blitz tournament, played on Friday 21 March. The prodigy scored 10½ points over 13 rounds, ending up half a point behind the tournament winner, Argentine GM Federico Pérez Ponsa.

Final Standings - Masters

Rk.		Name	Rtg.	Nt.	Pts.	n	1	2	3	4	5	6	TB	Perf.
1		Mareco,S	2591		6.5	10		1 0	1 ½	½ ½	1 ½	½ 1	30.00	2587
2		Rodriguez Vila,A	2429		5.5	10	0 1		0 1	1 0	0 1	½ 1	26.25	2546
3		Cuenca Jimenez,J	2479		5.5	10	0 ½	1 0		1 ½	0 ½	1 1	25.25	2536
4		Galaviz Medina,S	2501		5.0	10	½ ½	0 1	0 ½		½ ½	½ 1	24.00	2495
5		Flores,D	2551		4.0	10	0 ½	1 0	1 ½	½ ½		0 0	22.00	2413
6		Oro,F	2427		3.5	10	½ 0	½ 0	0 0	½ 0	1 1		16.50	2400
TBs: Sonneborn-Berger

All Games - Masters

Links

• Official website
• Full techincal info on Chess-Results: Masters | Rapid | Blitz