There are no more praises to write. The Argentine boy Faustino Oro12 years old, is the greatest genius the country has ever seen and without a doubt one of the best in the history of this ancient activity. In it World Rapid Chess Championshipwhich ended today in Qatar, completed its work in an extraordinary way. “El Messi del Ajedrez” was previously in 134th place out of the 247 participants and took 77th place in the overall table seven points after 13 wheels.
During the three days in which the competition was divided and played with a rhythm of 15 minutes plus an additional 10 seconds per move in the open category (with five games on Friday, four on Saturday and four this Sunday), the boy born in the San Cristóbal district, who has been living in Badalona (Spain) for two years, showed perhaps his best international performance. He has been a competitor to 11 grandmasters, one international master and one FIDE master..
Of the eleven grandmasters, five were in the top 15 in the world and the rest were in the top 100 in the world. In the duel with the seniors, they got 5 points, the result of two wins, six draws and three defeats. For this reason, His ranking in the fast special discipline rose by 23 points from 2489 Elo points to 2512. In this way, he added a new record to his electrifying career: he became the chess player who exceeded 2,500 Elo points in the classical, rapid and blitz categories at the earliest age.. The boy is 2503, 2512 and 2503 respectively. Huge.
In Qatar he beat Evgeniy Najer (Russia) and Pentala Harikrishna (India)right away Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan), Leinier Dominguez (USA), Vincent Keymer (Germany), Haik Martirosyam (Armenia), Daniel Dardha (Belgium) and S. Narayanan (India)and lost to Wesley So (USA), Levon Aronian (Armenia) and Adam Kozak (Hungary).
Another detail: in the last defeat against the Hungarian champions, after he had the game under control, he was “lost” due to an inaccuracy. He recovered and equalized the position, as can be seen from the detailed analysis of the chess programs. And when faced with the possibility of sealing the tie through constant checks, the boy (for this is Faustino, a 12-year-old boy) believed that the victory was worth fighting for and he forced the position and was wrong. Otherwise they would have added half a point more in a draw. For him, perhaps the most important thing is to play, have fun and win. Because he knows he has nothing to lose.
To understand Faustino’s progress at the World Chess Championship, one must remember that he made his debut in Samarkand, Uzbekistan two years ago. There, in the fast special discipline, the 10-year-old prodigy finished No. 186 out of 200 participants and ranked No. 189 with four points in 13 games. The following year, 2024 in New York, at the World Rapid Chess Championship, at the age of 11, he was ranked 146th out of 206 players, finishing 93rd with 6.5 points. Now, at the World Cup in Doha (capital of Qatar), he has far exceeded his expectations.
The winner of the open category was the Norwegian Magnus Carlsen35 years old, the top winner of these competitions. With his work in Qatar, he won his sixth World Rapid Chess Championship: 2014-2015-2019-2022-2023 and 2025.
The champion added 10.5 points, followed by Vladislav Artemiev (Russia), Arjun Erigaisi (India), Hans Niemann (USA) and Leinier Domínguez (USA), all with 9.5.
The impressive work of Fausti – as his friends and family call him – should not overshadow the achievements of the great Argentine teacher Candela FranciscoPilar’s neighbor. The young chess player, who is also studying law at Austral University, has done a remarkable job, far exceeding all predictions. Candela, ranked number 86 out of 141 players, came in at number 41 with 6.5 out of 11 possible points. He won six games, drew one and lost four. This work allowed him to add 36 points to his rapid chess ranking, moving from 2175 to 2211. Impressive.
In the women’s category, the winner (for the best tiebreaker system) went to the Chinese Jiner Zhuwho shared the lead with Russia’s Aleksandra Goryachkina and India’s Humpy Koneru, each with 8.5 points.
Starting tomorrow, in the same headquarters, the Qatar University Sports and Events Complex (a 25,000 square meter building), the World Blitz Chess Championships (with a game rhythm of 3 minutes plus two additional seconds for each move for each player) will begin in the Open and Women’s categories.
There will be 19 bikes at the Open (thirteen on the 29th and six on the 30th). On the same day, the top four advance to the next stage, the semi-finals and finals, where places will be determined in 4-game matches at this ultra-fast pace.
The women’s game is played with 15 wheels (ten on the 29th and five on the 30th). Here too, the four best women reach the semi-finals and the final phase, with the same match system as for men.
The Blitz prizes will be distributed in the same way as in the categories of the World Rapid Chess Championship: the open category 350,000 euros, of which 70,000 euros for the champion; and the women 155,000 euros, including 40,000 for the champion.
The big chess event continues in Qatar; Once again, Faustino Oro and Candela Francisco will be the country’s best representatives. Two young talents who never stop dreaming.
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