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Faustino Oro, the eleven-year-old Argentinian chess sensation often called the “Messi of Chess,” has made history by emerging as the first player below the age of 12 to attain a grandmaster norm and surpass a 2500 rating.

In the latest Prodigies and Legends tournament in the Spanish capital, the young star ended without a loss with seven and a half points out of nine, earning his first GM norm with 1.5 points to spare. The player’s rating now stands at over 2500, making him the youngest in history to break the 2500 mark.

Next Goals and Historic Ambitions

Oro is now targeting to obtain his remaining GM norms in the coming months, and could make him the most junior grandmaster in chess history, breaking the existing world record held by Mishra.

The prodigy’s upcoming tournaments include the Chess World Cup in Goa, the European Club Cup in the Hellenic Republic, and a invitational event in his home country.

Background and Comparisons

Abhimanyu Mishra, who earlier established the record in 2021, encountered challenges and required multiple tournaments prior to achieving the grandmaster title. However, recently, Mishra proved his talent by almost earning a spot for the Candidates tournament.

Karjakin, a further former youngest GM, previously had a memorable showdown with world champion Carlsen in 2016, whereas Gukesh, the sitting world champion, as well holds a place among the youngest grandmasters.

Style of Play and Media Presence

Oro is known for his versatile playing style, able to excelling in long endgames, positional battles, fast draws, and creative offensives.

In spite of a few discussion about tournament conditions, Oro’s performances in earlier competitions, like the Fujairah Masters, show his preparedness for the grandmaster level.

Along with strong media support and a catchy surname, Oro is seen as a future global icon in chess, particularly as current leading figures such as Carlsen move toward the end of their careers.

Forthcoming Competitions

In other chess news, the European Team Championship is set to begin in Batumi, Georgia, with the English team participating as the sixth seeded team.

Their squad features players like Vitiugov, Michael Adams, Jones, Luke McShane, and Royal, with Grandmaster Watson as captain.

The German team, led by Blübaum and Keymer, are the top seed and favorites for the championship.

In the Ladies’ European Championship, the English women’s team is seeded 12th spot and will be led by Grandmaster Conquest.

Viewers can view the matches live and at no cost on digital services such as Lichess and the Chess.com platform.

Chess Puzzle Solution: 1 Qxg7+! Kxg7 Second Bd8+! Kh8 Third Rg8+! Rxg8 Fourth Bf6+ Rg7 Fifth Bxg7+ Kg8 Sixth Bxd4+ Kf7 7 Rf1+ Ke7 Eighth Bxb2, and White emerge victorious.