Sandro Mareco convincingly wins double round-robin in Punta del Este

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.

Mareco, Sandro2591

0–1

Rodriguez Vila, Andres2429

Magistral Punta del Este 2025 Punta Ballena Maldonado19.03.2025[CC]

1.d4 d6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.Nc3 Bg4 5.e3 Nc6 6.Be2 e5 7.dxe5 dxe5 8.Qb3 Nge7 9.h3 Bf5 10.0-0 0-0 11.Rd1 Qc8 12.e4 Be6 13.Nd5 h6 14.Be3 g5 15.Bc5 Re8 16.h4 g4 17.Nh2 Ng6 18.Qe3 b6 19.Ba3 Nd4 20.Rac1 c6 21.h5 Nf4 22.Bf1 Nxh5 23.Ne7+ Rxe7 24.Bxe7 c5 25.Bh4 f5 26.Qe1 f4 27.Rd3 Qe8 28.g3 Qg6 29.b4 Bf8 30.b5 Bd6 31.a4 Bc7 32.Ra3 Re8 33.Bd3 Rf8 34.Bf1 Rf7 35.Rcc3 Bc8 36.Ra2 Bb7 37.Bd3 Ng7 38.Rca3 Nge6 39.Bb1 Qh5 40.Qd1 Rg7 41.a5 bxa5 42.Rxa5 Bxa5 43.Rxa5 Nf3+ 44.Nxf3 gxf3 45.Kh2 Nd4 46.Rxa7 Rg4 47.Qf1 Rxh4+ 48.gxh4 Qxh4+ 49.Qh3 Qxf2+ 50.Kh1 Qe1+ 51.Kh2

Rodriguez's attack on the kingside has borne fruit, and he now has a forced checkmate sequence on the board. However, there are many candidate moves, and the Uruguayan makes an error that nearly resulted in a draw. 51...f2 The correct sequence is: 51...Qe2+ 52.Kh1 f2 53.Ra8+ Bxa8 54.Qc8+ Kg7 55.Qd7+ Kg6 56.Qe8+ Kg5 57.Qg8+ Kh4 58.Qd8+ Kg3 59.Qg8+ Kf3 and the king escapes via the square vacated by the pawn advance. 52.Qg4+ Kf8 53.Ra8+ Mareco finds the resource that could save him. Bxa8 54.Qc8+ Kf7 55.Qd7+ Kf6 56.Qd8+ Kg6 57.Qg8+

57...Kh5 Suddenly, Mareco resigns, probably believing that the black king can escape. The tournament champion miscalculated, as in this particular variation, White can get the draw by perpetual check. This is an understandable mistake, as the difference from the previously shown variation is only a small detail (in many potential lines, the king can move to h4 after the check on g8). 57...Kh5 58.Qf7+ Kg4 Mareco likely overlooked in his calculations that the check from d7 here results in a draw. In contrast, the check from g7 (the first one that typically comes to mind) leads to a win for Black. 59.Qd7+ and Black cannot play Kf3 due to 59...Kg5 60.Qg7+ Kh4 61.Qe7+ Kg4 62.Qd7+ which is a draw. 60.Qh3+ Ke2 61.Qd3# Checkmate. 0–1

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

All Games - Masters

Links

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