One Win To Make History: It's Now Or Never For 'Chess Messi' Faustino Oro
The 12-year-old prodigy faces crunch time in his bid to become the youngest grandmaster in chess history. It won't be easy—he has to beat a 2600.
Here we are then—the moment of truth. Can IM Faustino Oro, the 12-year-old super-prodigy from Argentina, write his name into the history books by becoming the youngest grandmaster ever?
The chess world waits with baited breath, and it will find out during the final round of the Aeroflot Open on Thursday. Games start at 12pm Moscow time and you can watch it on the Chess Federation of Russia's YouTube channel here.
Back-to-back wins on Wednesday have put Oro right on the brink of reaching his goal of a 2600 FIDE tournament performance rating in Moscow and this is his last chance to do it.
Faustino Oro did the impossible and won two games today in the Aeroflot Open
— Evan Van Ness (@evan_van_ness) March 4, 2026
Tomorrow he plays and if he wins he will be the youngest chess grandmaster in history
And if he draws or loses, he won't. This is his last chance
🇦🇷🧉
Oro showed nerves of steel to overcome Azerbaijani IM Shiroglan Talibov in a tight Round 8 endgame. He now needs just one more win.
Faustino Oro, a un paso de convertirse en el GM más joven de la historia. Tiene que vencer mañana con negras al GM ruso Grebnev. No es fácil, pero hay esperanza tras ver la exhibición técnica de hoy. El pibe ganó un final al estilo Carlsen ¡magistral! https://t.co/WphaKY5tv2 pic.twitter.com/euAwzT3qaK
— Miguel Illescas (@illescasmiguel) March 4, 2026
Reaching that mark will secure the third and final GM norm Oro needs to qualify for the title and break GM Abhimanyu Mishra's record.
But it is a very tall order.
Oro's opponent in the last round is the 19-year-old Russian GM Aleksey Grebnev, rated 2621 FIDE. Grebnev is undefeated in the tournament and Oro, rated 2526, has the black pieces.
The odds are stacked against him. But breaking records isn't meant to be easy.
