Argentinian chess prodigy IM Faustino Oro continues to rewrite the history books. The 11-year-old won the Legends & Prodigies 2025 tournament in Madrid on Thursday, clinching first place with a round to spare. Along the way, he secured his first GM norm, delivered the strongest performance ever by a player under 12, and broke two prestigious rating records.
“The Messi of Chess,” as Argentinian media have dubbed him, finished on an undefeated and dominating 7.5/9, which left him a point and a half ahead of Peruvian legend GM Julio Granda, and Spanish-Argentinian GM Alan Pichot, who tied for second with six points.
Oro’s 2759 rating performance is likely the highest recorded by a player under the age of 12, earning him 33 rating points. Combined with his 12-point gain from Fujairah, his October FIDE rating is expected to be 2509.
Legends & Prodigies Final Standings
The 11-year-old continued his rampage in the eighth round on Wednesday by winning his sixth game, defeating IM Pedro Martinez, which secured him his first tournament victory in Europe. The win was something of a miracle, though, as Martinez had reached a winning position in the endgame until he blundered a piece, missing an intermediate bishop move.
The game was still drawn then, but Oro tricked the Venezuelan in the rook and bishop vs. rook endgame to grind out a win after 90 moves.
Already assured tournament victory, many would expect Oro to go for a quick draw against Granda, but he was ready to fight. “I’m not looking for a quick draw. Obviously, if I’m worse, I’ll accept it, but I want to play. I have nothing to lose,” he told Federico Marin for Spanish chess site Damas y Reyes.
I want to play. I have nothing to lose.
—Faustino Oro to Damas y Reyes.
Granda pressed hard for a win, but the 11-year-old showed great defensive skills to save the draw after 75 moves in the tournament’s last game.
Granda joined in a round of applause at the end of the game.
Ojalá los haters de Faustino Oro aprendan de la leyenda GM Julio Granda que reacciona de esa manera al finalizar la partida.
Prodigio vs Leyenda
Gracias @El_Divis por tremendo torneo pic.twitter.com/9JEOtQ1ZJo
— Gaby Vargas Talavera (@kaissapy) September 25, 2025
Oro had already secured his first GM norm on Tuesday, as the second-youngest in history after GM Gukesh Dommaraju, and now has roughly four months to score the two remaining norms and break the record set by GM Abhimanyu Mishra in 2021, as the youngest ever to achieve the GM title.
His record-breaking performances have also been praised by none other than former World Champion GM Veselin Topalov, who told Argentinian newspaper Infobae:
He has enormous talent and tremendous potential to go even higher, although I couldn’t tell you how far, because things in chess are moving very fast lately, and tomorrow an even younger kid could emerge. But for now, Faustino Oro is the fastest-growing player in the world.
Faustino Oro is the fastest-growing player in the world.
—Veselin Topalov
With the result in Madrid, Oro has become the youngest-ever, and the first player under 12, to achieve an official FIDE rating of 2500 or over. He breaks a record previously held by GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu from September 2017 by around one month, according to Chess.com’s research.
That’s not the only record he can add to his growing list of achievements, though. His expected 2509 rating is also the highest-ever for a player before their 12th birthday, also breaking a record held by Praggnanandhaa.
Oro’s success continues to ignite excitement back home in his native country. One of his many coaches, IM Jorge Rosito, has previously talked to Chess.com about how gifted Faustino is, and someone who is lucky to have full support from his parents.
In a new interview with Infobae, he said:
He’s a genius, and it shouldn’t matter if he achieves the title of grandmaster in record time. Fausti’s emergence is an achievement for Argentine chess, for those of us who love the game and who, for the first time in history, have the hope of seeing an Argentine in the chess elite. From afar, I would like these words to reach him along with my hug and congratulations.
The young phenom’s schedule is likely going to be packed for the rest of the year. He is set to compete at the FIDE World Cup in India, followed by the European Club Cup in Greece and the Szmetan-Giardelli Masters, a closed round-robin tournament in Argentina.
