Defending champion Faustino Oro remains unbeaten at the second edition of “Leyendas y Prodigios” in Madrid. The 12-year-old Argentine, who won last year’s tournament as a rising star and has since officially become a grandmaster, had to settle for two draws on the second day. He split the point with both José Fernando “Pepe” Cuenca Jiménez and David Antón Guijarro. After three of ten rounds, Oro and Antón Guijarro share the lead with 2 points each.
Oro began Tuesday with Black against Cuenca Jiménez. The Spanish grandmaster, also one of the best-known chess commentators in the Spanish-speaking world, proved a difficult opponent. Oro had started the tournament on Monday with a convincing attacking win over eight-time Argentine champion Diego Flores, but against Cuenca he was in serious trouble around moves 23–25.
The situation changed dramatically when Cuenca blundered on move 28, suddenly leaving Oro with a winning position. Oro failed to convert, however, and by move 37 the advantage was gone. Cuenca eventually emerged a knight up, but with his king dangerously exposed he decided not to take any further risks, and the players agreed to a draw. Oro thus moved to 1½ points from two games.
David Antón also remained unbeaten on Tuesday morning. Like Oro, the Spaniard had won his opening game on Monday, beating Cuenca Jiménez. In round two he faced José Eduardo Martínez Alcántara. Antón gained a slight advantage after the opening, but the position soon levelled out and the Mexican secured a draw by threefold repetition.
Oro and Antón Guijarro therefore entered their direct encounter in round three as the joint leaders of the six-player field. Rated 2632, Antón was the slight favourite on paper, but Oro had White and was in control for much of the game, at times enjoying a sizeable advantage.
Antón’s choice of the Caro-Kann initially succeeded in slowing down the youngster’s attacking ambitions. But in a complex middlegame Oro gradually built up a promising position and, after a mistake by Black, won a knight.
Oro remained in control and maintained an advantage for most of the game, but despite his extra piece he was unable to find the decisive breakthrough, and the players agreed to a draw in this position:
The second day was less spectacular than the opening round, when Oro had defeated Flores with an energetic attacking display. Nevertheless, the 12-year-old defending champion once again showed that he can hold his own against experienced grandmasters. After three rounds, Oro remains unbeaten and shares the lead.
The first half of the double round-robin will be completed on Wednesday, with two more games for Oro. In the morning he faces Dutch grandmaster Ivan Sokolov, followed in the afternoon by his encounter with Martínez Alcántara. From Thursday to Saturday, the players will meet again with colours reversed.
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