10-Year-Old Faustino Oro Becomes Youngest Ever To Break 3000 On Chess.com

10-year-old Argentinian prodigy FM Faustino Oro missed his final IM norm by a hair's breadth but broke the 2400 barrier for the first time. Meanwhile, he also reached a remarkable milestone on Chess.com.

The 'Messi of Chess,' as he's been dubbed by the Argentinian media, has captivated the chess world with several extraordinary achievements in the last year, becoming the youngest player to reach a rating of 2200 and eventually also 2300. In 2024, he also achieved another record as the youngest to score an IM norm. 

Having clinched his second norm at the end of May, Oro last week narrowly missed his final norm for the international master title in a tournament in Madrid. However, he did post another significant achievement as he crossed 2400 in classical, one requirement for the IM title. "I'm happy to have made it. It's the first time I've made it, so I am happy," he told Chess.com.

I'm happy to have made it. It's the first time I've made it, so I am happy.

 —Faustino Oro

Remarkably, only one player in chess history has achieved that mark at a younger age than Oro. GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov, now among the world's top-10 players, crossed 2400 at the age of 10 years and six months, while Oro will be slightly older when FIDE's July list comes out at the end of the month.

Alejandro Oro, Faustino's father, has previously said that to prevent his son from kicking a ball inside their home during lockdown he created an account for him on Chess.com, which has been essential for his progress. 

Since then, FaustinoOro has become one of Chess.com's top blitz players, crossing 2900 for the first time in August last year. "Fausti el pequeño gigante" (Fausti the little giant), as his show is called, has since become an official ambassador for ChessKid.

Last week the 10-year-old reached another incredible milestone, as he broke 3000 in blitz. He crossed the mark as he outplayed GM Giorgi Margvelashvili with Black.

And if you thought he hadn't already broken enough records, it turns out he is also the youngest ever to cross the mark, more than a year earlier than Turkish prodigy IM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus.

Only five players under age 14 have crossed 3000, according to Chess.com's research.

Oro credited his tactical prowess as the strongest aspect of his game when he spoke to Chess.com this month, which certainly is beneficial in blitz chess. "When you are young, I think you can calculate faster and better. The second strongest aspect is my positional game."

I think I am strongest in tactics. When you are young, I think you can calculate faster and better. The second strongest aspect is my positional game.

 —Faustino Oro

These days, Oro's focus is on classical chess as he's making one last attempt to become the youngest ever international master. The 10-year-old has started well with two wins, including one against the only grandmaster in the field, in a closed round-robin tournament in Barcelona.

He needs 6.5 points to secure the IM title. 

[Editor's note: Removed a tweet that mistakenly said Oro had not lost against grandmasters this year. In fact, he has three losses.]