Whiz Kid Beats GothamChess

FM Faustino Oro defeated IM Levy Rozman in the much-awaited edition of ChessKid Stars vs. Streamers: Fausti vs. GothamChess. On Monday, Oro and Rozman proved to be an extremely close matchup. After many lead changes, the prodigy scored a must-win victory to bring the duel into overtime and then clinched it with a second win in a row. 

Fausti vs. GothamChess is a clash of generations. 

Representing the Millennials, we have Rozman, the 28-year-old international master known as "the internet's chess teacher." This year, Rozman reached over four million subscribers on YouTube, became an NY Times bestselling author, and earned a place on the Forbes' 30 under 30 list. 

Representing Gen Z, we have Oro, the youngest player in history to earn an IM norm. The 10-year-old wunderkind has been breaking world records left and right in his brief career so far. He currently tops his age group by a nearly 200-point margin. 

Even when compared to other prodigies that have had meteoric rises like GMs Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Oro's trajectory stands out. 

Oro recently played a blitz tournament at the Chessable Sunway Sitges Festival where his engrossing play gained the attention of even the top seed and world number-eight in live rankings, GM Leinier Dominguez. 

GM Lenier Dominguez is watching the game of 10 y.o FM Oro Faustino from Argentina💫🇦🇷 @chessable @SunwayChessOpen #chess pic.twitter.com/VnwRsThVv5

— Keti Tsatsalashvili (@keti_chess) December 18, 2023

Today we're welcoming Faustino Oro 🇦🇷 to @Chessable Sunway Sitges. He's #1 player in the @FIDE_chess world U10 list, the youngest player ever to reach 2300, and he'll probably become one of the big names in our sport very soon. Some call him already the new "Messi of chess"! pic.twitter.com/YzIxXTTGVq

— Sunway Chess Festival (@SunwayChessOpen) December 16, 2023

• 3+1: Rozman-Oro 5-5
• 1+1: Rozman-Oro 5.5-6.5
  

3+1: Rozman-Oro 5-5

Oro scored the first two victories due to his sharp tactical awareness. In game two, he seized the chance to launch a raging king attack out of the blue from a previously slow-paced, strategic position. 

In the first of many lead changes, Rozman struck back with two wins in a row. GothamChess often counted on his endgame understanding to win, though he was capable of flipping the script and showing his own tactical prowess as well. In game four, he utilized skills both at once. 

In game five, Oro set up a tactical trap to win his opponent's queen, but Rozman was ready with a fork-supported counter-punch. 

As the match reached the halfway point, Oro tied up the score and then seized the lead with a three-game winning streak. He thrived when the positions became chaotic, successfully navigating his way through time scrambles and complications. 

Yet, Rozman fought back, scoring two victories in a row to close out the blitz segment with a 5-5 tied score. 

1+1: Rozman-Oro 5.5-6.5

After all decisive blitz games, the bullet portion started with three back-to-back draws. Two hours into the match, the players were still completely tied at 6.5-6.5.

It was Oro who broke through the deadlock with a tactical strike in a double-edged ending. 

Twice, Oro gained the lead. Yet, each time, Rozman matched his opponent's wins, game for game. The match clock ticked under three minutes with the competitors tied once again. 

Rozman took the lead in the tenth bullet game, putting Oro in a must-win situation with the match clock running out. 

The rising prodigy was up for the challenge, conjuring a king attack to win a bishop and then fighting for 89 moves to win a complex queen ending.  Evening the score, Oro triggered a playoff.

In overtime, Oro finished off the match with two tactical bolts, one after another. 

The Argentine sensation defeated his more experienced rival with a 11.5-10.5 final score. When asked who else he'd like to face in a match, Oro chose GM Alireza Firouzja.

His answer may have stirred Rozman's greatest fears. When asked where he thought Oro will be in five years, GothamChess shared:

Hopefully still loving chess and working very hard and not putting too much pressure on himself because the last thing that we need is for Fausti to turn 17 and say he's going to be a fashion designer. We already have enough of those.

The last thing that we need is for Fausti to turn 17 and say he's going to be a fashion designer.

―Levy Rozman

Rozman shared why the Chesskid Stars vs. Streamers matches appeal to him as a content creator:

I think my fellow content creators are just scared. They’re just wimps, and I’m very brave.

Also, it’s just good content. I’m happy today’s match was close. I was very worried that after it was 2-0 that it would be 20-0. I’m glad I was able to make it a good fight.

The ChessKid Stars vs. Streamers Showdown is a series of matches in which top young chess players play against some of the strongest titled chess streamers.

Previous coverage

• Master vs Pupil: GothamChess Risks Reputation Against Boy Wonder Fausti Oro