'I Will Become A Grandmaster Soon': Faustino Oro Falls Short Of Youngest GM Record
Argentinian prodigy IM Faustino Oro came within one victory of making chess history before losing the final round of the 2026 Aeroflot Open last week. Despite the loss, the youngster ended the tournament with a rating gain and remained positive about achieving the title.
The 12-year-old needed one final norm in an open tournament to become the youngest grandmaster in history at the event in Moscow, which took place from February 28 to March 5. GM Ian Nepomniachtchi eventually won the tournament with 7.5/9 points.
Oro needed to win the final game with black against the strong 19-year-old GM Aleksey Grebnev, but ended up losing a fighting game, falling one point short of the target.
Faustino Oro got the double-edged position he needed to fight for the GM title, but Aleksey Grebnev won and Abhimanyu Mishra's record of becoming a GM at the age of 12 years, 4 months & 25 days survives! pic.twitter.com/x02OUI6zd8
— chess24 (@chess24com) March 5, 2026
Speaking to Spanish international news agency EFE, he remained optimistic, saying: "The good thing is that I will probably get the norm soon. Without the record, but I will become a grandmaster soon."
The good thing is that I will probably get the norm soon. Without the record, but I will become a grandmaster soon.
—Faustino Oro
Oro started well with 3.5 points in the first five rounds, including an early draw against GM Raunak Sadhwan and a remarkable comeback victory after turning a lost position into a win.
The 12-year-old slipped in the sixth round by losing to GM Ivan Rozum, which made his path to the norm significantly more difficult. However, Oro showed nerves of steel by winning his next two games, keeping his norm chances alive.
In the seventh round, he checkmated his opponent with a nice rook sacrifice.
Fausti showed excellent endgame technique to outplay his opponent from what seemed like an equal position in the eighth round.
The "Messi of Chess" entered the final round knowing exactly what was required to break the record set by GM Abhimanyu Mishra, who became a grandmaster at 12 years, 4 months, and 25 days in 2021. Had he succeeded in scoring the norm, Oro would have become a grandmaster at 12 years, 4 months, and 19 days, six days younger than Mishra.
Oro played aggressively with the black pieces and had the chance to seize an advantage against the Russian grandmaster, but his aggressive play backfired and it quickly went downhill.
Oro was frank in his assessment afterward. "I didn’t play badly overall, but today I didn’t play a good game. In fact, I played quite a bad game," he told EFE.
He also noted the opportunities he received during the game. "My opponent gave me chances to win. The game should have been better, and maybe I could have achieved it."
Oro finished 27th among the 169 participants in the tournament with 5.5 points, gaining a few rating points. Reflecting on his performance, the Argentinian prodigy said:
"I had some good games and some bad ones. The tournament was good overall. It wasn’t the best tournament of my life, but it’s not a bad tournament."
Still, he admitted the missed opportunity stung. "It was a tough tournament. I’m a little sad at the end, since I could have achieved my final norm and the record."
It was a tough tournament. I’m a little sad at the end, since I could have achieved my final norm and the record.
—Faustino Oro
Oro was also praised by the tournament winner Nepomniachtchi, who told EFE: "He is undoubtedly an extraordinary talent. On paper it was not certain he would play so well. Even I was skeptical about his chances."
While Fausti no longer has the chance to take Mishra's record, he can still become the youngest with the title today. His next shot to score the last norm is likely the Menorca Open in April, ironically with Mishra also in the lineup.
