Faustino Oro has been the next big thing in the world of chess for quite some time now, and is widely seen as someone who is will be among the biggest stars in the sport once he hits his prime. The Argentinian, aptly nicknamed the ‘Messi of Chess’, already has a number of impressive achievements in his resume; he was after all, the youngest at the time to achieve the 2300 Elo rating in 2023 and the title of International Master in 2024.

More recently, he had become the first 11-year-old ever to achieve a 2500 rating. At the recent Chess World Cup in Goa, he had become the youngest player ever to win a game at the prestigious tournament by defeating Croatia’s Ante Brkić in the first round. And that’s not all – he had even defeated the legendary Magnus Carlsen in an online bullet game in 2024. Certainly impressive for a kid who is largely a self-taught player.

And in the coming week, ‘Fausti’ – also known as ’el pibe de oro’ (the golden boy) – is set for the biggest achievement of his career so far, one that will likely cement his place among the sport’s elite. The Argentine, after all, begins his hunt for his final Grandmaster norm at the Aeroflot Open in Moscow on Saturday, and if things go according to plan, the 12-year-old could break American GM Abhimanyu Mishra’s record to become the youngest Grandmaster in chess history.

Has Carlsen finally found his successor? 

With Faustino on the cusp of history, one can’t help but wonder if the throne that has had Magnus Carlsen as its occupant for the better part of the last two decades finally has a successor?

Carlsen remains miles ahead of his competitors and is among the greatest to have ever played the sport, if not the best. But the 35-year-old will not be sitting on the throne forever, and like Garry Kasparov or Anand before him, will likely transition into the role of a mentor or a commentator sooner rather than later, with his participation in tournaments likely limited to exhibition matches.

He already is semi-retired from the Classical format, having limited his participation in Standard chess since 2023. And should ‘Fausti’ make history by achieving his third Grandmaster norm, the timing of the feat certainly should lead to discussion within the chess community, discussion centering around life after Carlsen in chess.

FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky, for one, had recently offered his take on chess’ future stars and players who are likely to break into the top-10 by the end of the decade and are most likely to emulate Carlsen’s legendary career, and
Oro was one of three players named by the Israeli GM. He even revealed that Carlsen held ‘Fausti’ in high regard and sees him as one of chess’ biggest stars down the road.

“Magnus also was of a very high opinion of Oro few days ago and now he’s of (Yagiz Kaan) Erdogmus. I think all these guys are exceptional talents but it’s tad too early to claim they would be next Magnus or similar to that. It would be not difficult to expect or to forecast that,” Sutovsky told ChessBase India.

“Both Erdogmus and Oro would make into top 10 that’s for sure. Top five very likely because after all, if they are already best in this age group so what will happen in three or four years? The generation who are much older than them they will start fading away and then they’re best around this age so it’s natural to expect them by the year 2030 to be in top five for sure. But to be a dominating player like Magnus is very difficult feat,” he added.

‘I’m not really focused on the record of the youngest Grandmaster’

It’s also worth mentioning that
in a recent interview with _Firstpost_, ‘Fausti’ had mentioned that he isn’t too bothered about becoming the youngest Grandmaster of all time, and prefers to keep himself grounded rather than get carried away by the thought of such feats.

“I prepare for tournaments. I’m trying to improve all the days a bit. And in the tournaments, I try to focus on the next game and try to win. I’m not really focused on the record of the youngest Grandmaster. I want to be a Grandmaster. But well, my goal is to be a world champion,” Faustino had said in October ahead of the Chess World Cup.

It’s safe to say that the young Argentine will be commanding the attention of the entire chess community when he competes at the Aeroflot Open, which comprises a tough field comprising 51 grandmasters and 58 international masters.