An unbeaten duo
Tournament winner Aryan Tari and Faustino Oro were the only two players to go through the Magistral Szmetan-Giardelli without a defeat. Tari secured first place with a draw against Sandro Mareco in the final round.
Aryan Tari (top), the tournament winner, finished unbeaten and edged out Ivan Cheparinov (bottom) on tiebreak. | Photos: FADA
Cheparinov moved into shared first place with a comfortable win in the final round.
Oro played it safe in the final round. A win would have allowed him to draw level with Tari and Cheparinov, but he did not want to risk letting the GM norm slip from his grasp. Here is Faustino Oro’s game against Diego Flores, whom he had lost to just days earlier at the Argentine Championship.
The Oro–Mishra race
Oro achieved a performance rating of 2608 at the Magistral Szmetan-Giardelli, raising his Elo to 2516. Here are his results:
| Round | Snr | Name | Elo | Country | Pts. | Result | rtg+/- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | IM | Schnaider, Ilan | 2402 | ARG | 3 | 3,60 | |
| 2 | 1 | IM | Darcyl, Tomas | 2360 | ARG | 2 | 3,10 | |
| 3 | 10 | GM | Tari, Aryan | 2636 | NOR | 6 | 1,80 | |
| 4 | 3 | GM | Shirov, Alexei | 2610 | ESP | 5,5 | 1,50 | |
| 5 | 4 | GM | Slipak, Sergio | 2374 | ARG | 3,5 | -1,70 | |
| 6 | 5 | GM | Mareco, Sandro | 2555 | ARG | 4 | 0,70 | |
| 7 | 6 | GM | Cheparinov, Ivan | 2625 | BUL | 6 | 1,70 | |
| 8 | 7 | GM | Granda Zuniga, Julio E | 2624 | PER | 4 | 1,60 | |
| 9 | 8 | GM | Flores, Diego | 2567 | ARG | 5,5 | 0,90 |
Abhimanyu Mishra now really has reason to worry about his world record. He became a grandmaster in June 2021 at the age of 12 years, 4 months, and 25 days. For his “pursuer” Oro, this sets a clear deadline: he must achieve his third norm by 11 March 2026.
Final standings after round 9
| 1 | GM | Tari, Aryan | 2636 | 6 | 25,25 | |
| 2 | GM | Cheparinov, Ivan | 2625 | 6 | 23 | |
| 3 | GM | Shirov, Alexei | 2610 | 5,5 | 23,25 | |
| 4 | IM | Oro, Faustino | 2503 | 5,5 | 22,25 | |
| 5 | GM | Flores, Diego | 2567 | 5,5 | 21 | |
| 6 | GM | Granda Zuniga, Julio E | 2624 | 4 | 18,5 | |
| 7 | GM | Mareco, Sandro | 2555 | 4 | 18 | |
| 8 | GM | Slipak, Sergio | 2374 | 3,5 | 14,5 | |
| 9 | IM | Schnaider, Ilan | 2402 | 3 | 12 | |
| 10 | IM | Darcyl, Tomas | 2360 | 2 | 7,25 |
Games
