12-year-old prodigy continues to impress
How strong is 12-year-old Faustino Oro really? Here is one answer. Put him across the board from a battle-hardened grandmaster – a World Cup giant-killer, a man feared on every online speed server in the world – and watch what happens. Oro played a six-game match against GM José Martínez Alcántara in Lima and won it 4-2. Let that sink in.
The match was held on 25 June as the centrepiece of the WR Chess Marathon Perú 2026, organized by WR Chess in association with the Peruvian Chess Federation. The contenders contested two games of rapid chess (15 minutes, no increment) followed by four games of blitz (3 minutes, no increment), with a total prize fund of US$10,000 on the line.
The opening ceremony of the 67-hour Chess Marathon
The two protagonists
The Messi of Chess – 12-year-old Faustino Oro | Photo: Amruta Mokal
If you follow chess at all, you already know the name Faustino Oro. The Argentine has been called “the Messi of chess”. At the age of 12, he became the second-youngest grandmaster in the history of the game. He first burst into the global consciousness when he defeated Magnus Carlsen in an online bullet game in 2024 – a result that turned a child into a worldwide sensation overnight. Since then, every Oro appearance has carried a simple question with it: just how good is this kid going to be?
Is this watch allowed? José Martínez asks the arbiter | Photo: Amruta Mokal
On the other side sat a man who knows exactly what it takes to compete at the very top. José Martínez, known online to millions simply as “Jospem”, was born in Lima – this was his city, his crowd, his backyard. Though he has represented the Mexican federation since 2024, his roots are Peruvian. Jospem is one of the most respected speed players on the planet: a fixture near the top of chess.com’s Titled Tuesday events, and a grandmaster who at the 2025 World Cup stunned the chess world by knocking out super-GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov. In faster time controls, especially, he is exactly the kind of opponent you do not want to face. He is, by reputation, one of Latin America’s strongest and most feared speed players.
The rapid games: A slow start, then the storm
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Faustino Oro and José Martínez | Photo: Amruta Mokal
The match could hardly have begun worse for Faustino. In the first rapid game, Jospem produced a calm, controlled, positionally crushing game. He outplayed the youngster, and for a moment the pre-match doubts looked well-founded. Could a 12-year-old really hold off a player of this calibre over six games?
Faustino’s response told you everything about his temperament. In the second rapid game he dug in, navigated the complications, and outplayed José under time pressure. The score was level at 1-1, and now came the four blitz games that would decide everything.
In the blitz section, Faustino was an absolute beast. Game after game, he held the edge on the clock – the very weapon Jospem is famous for wielding against others. The youngster won two of the four blitz games and drew the other two, conceding nothing and never letting his opponent back into the match.
Víctor Pimentel, the President of the Peruvian Chess Federation, greets Faustino Oro | Photo: Amruta Mokal
Faustino got a winning position, but Jose Martinez fought back. In fact, in the final position, Martínez was very close to winning, but had no time and Faustino got the full point. The score was 2-1 in Faustino’s favour.
Both players missed chances to get a big advantage in the second blitz game. Faustino did not find the move 27…axb3 while Martínez missed the 28.Nc7 fork. The score was now 2½-1½ in Faustino’s favour.
The third blitz encounter was Faustino’s best game. He played flawlessly and finished the game off with the precision that we have now grown accustomed from him. With this win, Faustino closed the match with a 3½-1½ score.
The fourth blitz game would not affect the result, but it was so nice to see Fausti’s fighting spirit. In fact, Josó offered to repeat the position at some point. But Faustino fought on. The game eventually ended in a draw, but it showed that Faustino wanted to just fight! Here’s a small tactic from this game which didn’t happen, but one that I liked a lot.
The scoreboard read 4-2 in favour of Faustino Oro. The 12-year-old had defeated a very strong opponent. Absolutely amazing!
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The live commentary on the event was provided by two amazing players – GM Leinier Domínguez and GM Antoaneta Stefanova | Photo: Amruta Mokal
The entire livestream of the match on the WR Chess channel
What it means
The summary of the entire match
This result is one more data point in a growing pile, all pointing the same direction: this boy will be very, very good. If he can do this at 12, the imagination runs a little wild thinking about what the years ahead hold.
For his efforts, Faustino returned home US$6,000 richer, while José Martínez took US$4,000 for the runner-up share of the purse. The whole event was a showcase for chess in the region, and a reminder that Latin America is producing – and attracting – some of the most exciting talent in the world right now.
In his post-match interview for ChessBase India, Faustino was refreshingly honest about how the match had felt from the inside – and about that shaky start. “After losing the first game, I was feeling very angry”, he admitted. “I played slow and bad – it was like a garbage game. But then I just tried to forget it and play my best chess in the second one”. That second-game victory, he said, was the moment the match turned: once he had his first win on the board, “you feel more confident, for sure”.
Asked what comes next now that he obtained the grandmaster title – the 12-year-old already had his sights set higher. “Now it’s time to keep improving, training and maybe get to 2600. That’s one of my goals”, he said. “And maybe get to number one in Argentina’s ranking”. He is also looking forward to representing Argentina at the upcoming Olympiad. “Keep improving, training and enjoying, for sure”.
Argentina’s number-one spot is not that far…
The Messi of Chess!
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Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: King’s Indian Setup