Global Chess League, Faustino Oro’s 2nd GM norm, FIDE Updates

Welcome to week 12 of The Chess News Podcast where I discuss the Global Chess League, Faustino Oro’s second GM norm, FIDE updates, and more.

The biggest event underway is the Global Chess League, taking place in Mumbai, India. It is the third season of this rapid chess event among teams, a joint venture between FIDE and  sponsor Tech Mahindra. At the time of recording this podcast, 9 of the 10 rounds in the round-robin stage have been played and the winner of 2023 and 2024, Triveni Continental Kings, has a commanding lead of 21 points, which means the team has already qualified for the final. 

Then, 2.5 months after scoring his first Grandmaster norm, the Argentinean prodigy Faustino Oro has now secured his second. The 12-year-old chess player finished in a tie for third place at the Szmetan-Giardelli Masters 2025 in Buenos Aires, scoring an undefeated 5.5/9 with seven draws and two wins. That was good for a 2608 performance rating, enough for a GM norm in a field that included players such as Aryan Tari, the winner of the tournament, Ivan Cheparinov, who came second, but also the legendary Alexei Shirov, who tied for third with Oro together with Diego Flores, the Argentinean Champion.

Last week I mentioned the disturbing news that FIDE had approved the lifting of sanctions on Russia and Belarus at an online General Assembly held on Sunday the 14th. On Wednesday, The English Chess Federation (ECF) issued a statement, condemning both the procedure and the outcome. Meanwhile, the President of the Norwegian Chess Federation, IM Lasse Ostebo Lovik, has told Chess.com that his federation is considering legal action, which includes a complaint to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS). 

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