Granda returns: Peruvian legend set to face Oro and Lu at Madrid round-robin

Faustino Oro, Lu Miaoyi, Ilan Schnaider and Diego Macías aiming for a GM norm

From 17 to 25 September, Madrid will host the “Legends and Prodigies” tournament, a generational clash bringing together ten players. The event will be a single round-robin with a time control of 90 minutes for the game and 30-second increments per move. Six established masters will face four young talents seeking to gain experience and potentially a GM norm.

The event is organised by Mariano Sigman, in collaboration with IM David Martínez, an experienced coach and chess.com promoter, with the support of Insud Pharma. The venue will be the Nave Bellver, which will host a competition aiming to become a fixture on the international calendar.

The tournament offers a special incentive for the young players: all the participating International Masters, including the prodigies, need 6/9 points to score a Grandmaster norm. Each pairing will be an opportunity to get closer to this goal, testing both preparation and psychological stamina.

The legends’ group will include GM Julio Granda, GM José “Pepe” Cuenca – well-known for his work as a commentator – GM Alan Pichot, GM Omar Almeida, IM Pedro Martínez and GM David Lariño, celebrated for his unpredictable playing style. Their combination of experience, creativity and fighting spirit will pose a serious challenge for the aspiring youngsters.

Julio Granda: a living legend of Latin American chess

Peruvian grandmaster Julio Granda Zúñiga is one of Latin America’s greatest chess figures. A multiple continental champion, Olympic medallist with the Peruvian national team, and at times a regular in elite tournaments, he has had a long career facing the world’s best. His return to a strong tournament after being semi-retired for a number of years adds special appeal to this event.

Faustino Oro: the new face of Argentine chess

At just 11 years old, International Master Faustino Oro has become one of the sensations of the chess world. Nicknamed the “Messi of chess”, he embodies precocity and has created great expectations about his potential. He has already shown he can compete with elite players, and every tournament he enters is closely followed by the chess community, especially in his native Argentina. A strong result in Madrid could bring him his first GM norm.

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The lineup of prodigies is completed by IM Lu Miaoyi (15 years old, Chinese national champion and world number two in the under-20 women’s category), IM Diego Macías (18 years old, from Spain, rated 2503, the main candidate for a GM norm) and IM Ilan Schnaider (14 years old, an emerging Argentine talent). All of them will seek to capitalise on this opportunity to gain valuable points, face strong GMs and continue climbing the ranks.

Participants

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