Despite his brilliant tournament, Faustino Oro fell short of becoming the youngest Grand Master in history

Faustino Oro was one triumph away from writing a historic page in world chess. The 12-year-old Argentine prodigy fell in the ninth and final round of the Moscow Aeroflot International Open to Russian Aleksey Grebnev and failed to become the

youngest Grand Master of all time.

In this way, the title remains in the hands of the American with Indian roots Abhimanyu Mishra, who won it at 12 years, 4 months and 25 days. Gold needed to win its final game to reach it at 12 years, 4 months and 19 days, six days before the current record. However, he ran into a top-level rival

.

Grebnev, number 100 in the world ranking, proposed a secondary line that took the game to less common ground for the Argentine and, in the decisive stage, he managed the time on the clock better to tip the duel in

his favor.

The competition, held at The Carlton Hotel and with 169 players from 16 countries, including 49 grandmasters, represented Golden's last chance to reach the third necessary standard before reaching the age limit for the record.

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) requires, in order to grant the GM title before the age of 14, to add three rules in international tournaments, to maintain a performance of more than 2600 ELO points and to complete the last one in an open.

The young man born in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of San Cristóbal and living in Badalona had already achieved two standards in Madrid and Buenos Aires in 2025. In Moscow, he scored an outstanding performance, beating, among others, the Indian Mandar Lad and the Azerbaijani Shiroghlan Talibov on the last day to reach the definition with concrete chances of breaking the Mishra record

.

Although the feat did not materialize, Faustino Oro's impact on the world's chess elite is undeniable. At 12 years old, he is already competing on an equal footing against established great teachers and remains one of the greatest promises on the national and international scene

.