New Delhi: Dubbed the ‘Messi of Chess’, 12-year-old Faustino Oro, a chess prodigy from Argentina, has made waves in global chess with his extraordinary achievements at a tender age. Born in Buenos Aires, Oro, who loved solving puzzles and playing strategic board games as a kid, was inspired by his father to take up chess.
His rapid strides in age-group chess soon made the world take notice of his talent and earned him the nickname ‘Messi of Chess’. There has been no looking back for the International Master, who became the first under-12 player in chess history to gain a rating of 25-00 plus after winning the Legends and Prodigies tournament in Madrid earlier this month.
Oro won the tournament unbeaten to achieve his first grandmaster norm and rise to 2509 GM rating on FIDE’s October rating list. He needs two more norms to achieve the grandmaster title and is on track to potentially become the youngest grandmaster ever, surpassing India’s Abhimanyu Mishra, who qualified for the title at 12 years, 4 years and 25 days in 2021.
“My dad inspired me to play chess. I used to play tactical games and solve puzzles, and I like chess. I like solving puzzles, playing games, and enjoy playing chess,” Oro told News9 in an exclusive interview.
Oro achieved the IM title at the age of 9 after becoming the youngest to reach a FIDE rating of 2300 points. In March 2024, a 10-year-old Oro stunned the chess world when he defeated the legendary Magnus Carlsen in an online blitz match during Chess.com’s weekly Bullet Brawl tournament. The win paved the way for global recognition for the Argentine, who earned the ‘Messi of Chess’ tag from a Spanish journalist.
Tracing the origin of the ‘Messi of Chess’ tag
Oro, who is considered a generational talent like Messi, expressed his love for the Argentine football icon, who enjoys the modern-day footballing demigod status in his country. However, the 12-year-old insisted he has never felt the pressure from carrying the tag of a player of Messi’s stature.
“I got that nickname (Chess’ Messi) from a journalist in Spain, and people soon started calling me Messi of Chess. But that doesn’t mean that I have extra pressure. I like the comparison because I love Messi, but there is no extra pressure,” said a firm Oro, with confidence that seemed rare for a 12-year-old.
Inspired by Messi and Gukesh
From becoming the world’s highest under-12 player in 2024 to becoming the youngest-ever player to cross 2500 Elo earlier this year, Oro’s meteoric rise in world chess has continued in 2025. He won the Prodigies (U21) section at the Global Chess League (GCL) Contenders 2025 earlier this week and will now take on some of the best players in the world in the main event that will be held in Mumbai from December 13 to 24.
The 12-year-old, who loves Messi and his humble nature, also considers reigning chess world champion D Gukesh as an inspiration. It’s Gukesh’s drive to win that stands out for Oro, who believes it is the greatest quality of the Indian grandmaster. With aspirations of clinching the world title in future, Oro wants to take all possible learnings from Gukesh’s game.
“He (Gukesh) always tries to win. And he plays obviously too good. To be a world champion you need to play good, but he always tries to win that’s the thing I believe (I want to take from his game),” Oro told News9.
“Messi’s humility and well, his creativity too,” he insisted when asked what qualities of the Argentine legend inspire him the most.
Oro also reserved special praise for Indian chess and the latest crop of Indian players, who have been dominating on the world stage. The Argentinian prodigy said he looks up to the likes of Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi, while hailing India as a talent hub of chess at present.
“Indian chess is ridiculous. A lot of talents, India is probably the country with the most talented players in the world. So, so nice and yeah, my inspiration from India are Gukesh, Praghnanananda, Arjun (Erigaisi),” shared the 12-year-old IM.
I would like to become a world champion: Faustino Oro
Though he is currently focused on attaining the grandmaster title as quickly as possible, Oro said he wants to become a chess world champion in the future.
“I would like to be a world champion. That’s my dream. But I want to first become a grandmaster. Obviously, step by step. First, I want to be a grandmaster and then a world champion in the future,” shared Chess’ Messi.
The 12-year-old also expressed his excitement over securing a spot in the third season of the Global Chess League. GCL, which will feature some of the best players from across the globe, will be played at the Royal Opera House in Mumbai. Oro believes the tournament is a great platform for youngsters like him to scale up and test themselves against some of the greatest in the sport.
“The Global Chess League is a nice platform to scale up for young talents like me, and I would like to compete with the best in the world,” he concluded.