World Chess Weekly: Oro's Record Bid Fails As Gukesh Says Sorry For Poor Form
You've got to feel for 12-year-old IM Faustino Oro. Argentina's wonder kid has been setting the chess world alight as he's travelled the globe showing off his astonishing talent.
The youngster arrived in Moscow to play in the Aeroflot Open with one aim: to secure a performance that would make him the youngest grandmaster in history. Concerns about playing in a state-funded event and the risk of being used for Russian propaganda were of no concern to him.
But while the boy nicknamed the "Chess Messi" certainly burned bright yet again this week, his bid for glory was finally extinguished.
Oro didn't go down without a fight, however. Back-to-back wins on Wednesday had put him right on the edge of breaking the record going into Thursday's final round.
Oro gave everything and in the final round faced a talented Russian GM in 19-year-old Aleksey Grebnev, rated 2621 FIDE. In the end, Grebnev was too strong. Oro pushed, overpushed, and then collapsed against an opponent who finished the event unbeaten.
It brings an end to a wonderful run that has seen him come so near, but yet so far, from replacing GM Abhimanyu Mishra in the annals of chess history.
Mishra keeps his record, for now only. Because there are other prodigies with their eyes on the prize.
The Aeroflot, Russia's premier chess tournament, was won for the second year in a row by the top seed GM Ian Nepomniachtchi. His victory represents a welcome return to form for the two-time world title challenger, and he takes home the handsome sum of 3,400,000 rubles.
The win will take him back into the world's top 20 after a tough 2025 which saw him dumped out of early at the Chess World Cup. Nepo is a class act and hopefully he's back.
GM David Paravyan finished second on tiebreaks, while GM Rudik Makaryan finished third.
Gukesh's Nightmare
While Nepomniachtchi was looking back to his best, the actual world champion, India's GM Gukesh D, has been having a torrid time at the Prague Masters.
Going into Round 8 of 9, Gukesh stands winless and rock bottom of the leaderboard on 2.5/7.
Gukesh arrested his run of losses with a Round 7 draw against GM Parham Maghsoodloo—but it's been a painful event so far, and the torment is etched on his face.
To make matters worse, GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov—who Gukesh appears to have a real rivalry with—is leading the tournament on 5.5/7. Ouch.
Speaking to WGM Keti Tsatsalashvili, Gukesh said: "I really appreciate all the fans coming here almost every day. I'm just sorry about one thing.
"Obviously, this tournament has been tough for me and on some days, I just want to be left alone."
He added: "I generally make sure that I sign autographs and take photographs with fans. But here, in general, I’ve just not been in a great mood. So I’d like to apologise."
Gukesh's poor run in the event has also seen the 19-year-old slip to world number 20 in the live ratings this week. It is alarming for the world champion.
Round 5 of the Prague Masters starts at 2.15pm GMT on Friday. You can watch it live on the Prague International Chess Festival website here.
Headlines From The Week:
- FIDE Briefly Reinstates Karjakin Back Into The World's Top 10, Then Boots Him Out Again
- Nearly There! Chess World Holds Its Breath As 11-Year-Old Oro Goes For Glory
- WTF Happened To Gukesh? World Champion Drops Like A Stone After Yet Another Defeat In Prague
- One Win To Make History: It's Now Or Never For 'Chess Messi' Faustino Oro