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Faustino Oro, 12, Becomes Chess Grandmaster, Second-Youngest in History

The feat underscores how modern training plus broader access to strong events propel ever-younger players to elite status.

Overview

  • FIDE confirmed Sunday that the Argentine secured his third norm at the Sardinia World Chess Festival, making him a grandmaster at 12 years, 6 months, and 26 days.
  • His round‑8 win over Bartlomiej Niedbala clinched the norm, and a round‑9 loss to Ian Nepomniachtchi did not change it because Nepomniachtchi’s high rating kept the event’s opponent average above the threshold.
  • Oro met FIDE’s grandmaster standard of three norms plus a 2500 rating after earlier norms in Madrid in September 2025 and Buenos Aires in December 2025.
  • A near‑miss in March at the Aeroflot Open, where he lost the final round to Aleksey Grebnev, delayed an attempt that would have undercut Abhimanyu Mishra’s age record.
  • He is the seventh player to earn the title before turning 13, reflecting a broader trend as powerful engines and frequent elite tournaments speed up the rise of young prodigies.