12-year-old ‘Messi of Chess’ eyes youngest grandmaster record, but undaunted by pressure
For a boy knocking on the doors of history, Faustino Oro is remarkably nonchalant about the pressures of expectations that come along with being too good too early in his career. Having ticked off his first Grand Master norm and crossed the 2500 rating threshold a fortnight ago at the Legends & Prodigies tournament in Madrid, Oro finds himself just two norms away from being the youngest grandmaster in history, a record which currently belongs to Indian-origin prodigy Abhimanyu Mishra. Oro still has five months to break Mishra’s record. The chase of becoming the youngest Grand Master in history has infamously been known to do strange things to the form of prodigies in the past. But Oro dismisses any talk of pressure with a shrug and a smile. While speaking to The Indian Express from his home in Badalona, Oro said, “There is no pressure about the record. Like I say in all my interviews, I try to play my best chess and enjoy chess. For me, it’s a sport.” The 12-year-old prodigy added, “I am not focusing on the record of being the youngest grandmaster in history. I will try to do that, obviously. But I am more focused on playing my style of chess and trying to improve a bit more every day. And well, if I improve a bit more each day, the grandmaster title will appear.” Oro was introduced to chess by his father at the age of six, Alejandro, to prevent the restless boy of six from kicking the football against walls for hours at a stretch while they were in COVID lockdown. In these six years, he’s already become the world’s youngest international master (a record now broken), the youngest player ever to cross 2500 rating, and the second youngest to earn a Grandmaster norm. He’s also defeated players like Magnus Carlsen thrice, and Hikaru Nakamura in online games besides playing against five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand in exhibition games.
Iconic St. Louis Chess Club to bring memories back; will host an exhibition between Vishy Anand and Garry Kasparov
Two chess legends, the former world champions, Garry Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand, will turn back the clock as they face off against each other in October in a special exhibition match named ‘Clutch Chess’. Both players will face each other in a Chess960 (Fischer Random) match that will feature 12 games. This exhibition match is part of the iconic Saint Louis Chess Club’s re-launching of its newly expanded campus.. The club will also host a rapid tournament that will see the World’s number one-ranked Magnus Carlsen, second-ranked Hikaru Nakamura, World’s number three Fabiano Caruana, and the reigning World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju competing. The Anand-Kasparov 12 games will be played between 7th and 11th October at the St. Louis Chess Club. The event will feature a $144,000 prize fund and will have Anand and Kasparov playing games in the rapid and blitz time controls with what the organizers called “an innovative scoring system designed to captivate both players and fans”. “Saint Louis has become the beating heart of global chess. The vision, the commitment, and the passion for the game here are unmatched anywhere in the world. It’s an honor to return and play in a city that has redefined what it means to support and grow the chess community,” Kasparov was quoted as saying in a press release from the St Louis Chess Club. The St Louis Chess Club will also host players like World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura, World No. 3 Fabiano Caruana, and World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju in what will be the highest-rated chess tournament of the year. The event will have 4,12,000 US Dollars in prize money, including daily win bonuses and a Champion’s Jackpot.
Praggnanandhaa’s hilarious anecdote: After listening to the news of triumph over Carlsen, my father said ‘good’ and went back to sleep!
The historic triumph over Magnus Carlsen always becomes special and brings celebration and higher recognition from important people in a country like India. It was no different for chess prodigy R. Praggnanandhaa when he trumped the Norwegian chess king at 16. Praggnanandhaa recently shared a hilarious anecdote of what happened when he defeated Carlsen for the first time in 2022 in an online chess game. It was that game that made Praggnanandhaa a household name in India, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar among those who posted congratulatory messages on X. But back in Praggnanandhaa’s own home, the reaction was much more muted. “Since it was 2 am in the night, at that time my parents were asleep. I went and woke my dad up and said, ‘I won’. He said, ‘Good,’ and then he went back to sleep because he had to go to the office the next day,” Praggnanandhaa said on Raj Shamani’s Figuring Out podcast. Asked what he was thinking, Praggnanandhaa said: “I wasn’t thinking anything. I was just playing, and I got my chance out of nowhere. Everything happened in like a few minutes. It was an online rapid game. I was quite happy. “I was just excited, like I wasn’t expecting it, and then suddenly… I mean, the game was also going in a trend where he was putting pressure on me, and then suddenly I got my chance. I had to play some accurate moves, which I did, and I won. So, I was just very happy, and then I also didn’t expect so much reaction from outside after that. So that was also, I think, a good thing for the game. I think it brought more attention,” Pragnanandhaa added. “I was more excited about the fact that I just beat Magnus than the actual game. I didn’t think the game was particularly great or anything like that. I did analyze it later. I realized I didn’t play well. It was like the fifth game of the day or something. We were already tired, and it was obvious that we were not playing our best, but I won, and I think it was important for me back then. It gave me a lot of confidence, and I realized that the top players are not invincible; you can beat them. Until you get that first win, you always feel like they are just in a different world. But once you beat them, you know that it’s possible.
D Gukesh hails Divya Deshmukh
India’s chess might was on display once again at the recent Women’s World Cup in Batumi, where title-winner Divya Deshmukh scripted a hat-trick of extraordinary successes. Divya, the country’s latest Grandmaster, powered through with her teen spirit despite not being among the odds-on favourites to clinch the crown. Speaking during an event recently, D Gukesh labelled Divya’s victory as ‘inspiring’. “We (Gukesh and Divya) basically grew up together. We played in the same tournaments right from when we were eight or nine-years-old. The way Divya won the World Cup was really inspiring. It is not easy to win the tournament, you have to play regularly for a month. I have played the World Cup two times, so I know how difficult it is to win,” he said. “We (Gukesh and Divya) basically grew up together. We played in the same tournaments right from when we were eight or nine years old. The way Divya won the World Cup was really inspiring. It is not easy to win the tournament, you have to play regularly for a month. I have played the World Cup two times, so I know how difficult it is to win,” Gukesh said in a Velammal Nexus event that was organised to felicitate Mount Everest conqueror Ashish. “Both of them (Divya and losing finalist, veteran Koneru Humpy) played amazingly well. For Indian chess, it is important that we have good results in both men (open) and women.” The Men’s World Cup is also scheduled for October 30-November 27, and it will take place in India. Gukesh said, “For sure, I will take part in the World Cup. I am really excited and looking forward to it. In chess, we do not have many knockout events, so the World Cup is the biggest knockout tournament. After the Olympiad (in 2022), India hosting a big event is important for Indian chess.” After her win, Divya was in tears immediately, and took some time to process the moment. Then she immediately went to her mother, who was at the sidelines. Her mother calmed her down, as the pair exchanged a heartwarming hug. Since then, the moment has gone viral on social media. India can complete a WorldCup double when the global tournament is hosted in the country later this year. While chess world’s governing body FIDE have announced the dates for the event – October 30 to November 27 – the host city is yet to be finalised.
Divya Deshmukh calls herself fortunate after winning the FIDE Women’s Chess World Cup!
India’s Divya Deshmukh broke down in tears after stunning Koneru Humpy and clinching the women’s World Cup title on Monday, and she, speaking to FIDE, called herself fortunate! Divya outclassed compatriot Koneru Humpy in the tie-break, winning the second rapid game in a tense rook endgame on Monday in Batumi, Georgia. “I need time to process it. I think it was fate that I got the Grandmaster title this way. Because before this, I didn’t even have one norm, and before this tournament, I was thinking ‘Oh, where can I get my norm,’ and now I’m a Grandmaster,” said Divya in an interview with FIDE right after clinching the title. Divya is now the fourth Indian woman to become a GM, after Humpy, R. Vaishali, and Harika Dronavalli. Despite ending up on the winning side on Monday, Divya believes her endgame skills need further polishing. “I definitely need to learn endgames. I’m pretty sure at some point I messed it up. I’m not sure how. It should have been an easy win. I think I should not allow g4. But I think maybe I should just go rook a3, rook f3, rook g3, and that should be a win,” said the 19-year-old. Divya is also hoping that the World Cup win, the biggest triumph of her young career, will lead to more glories. “It definitely means a lot. But of course, there’s uh there’s a lot more to achieve. So this I’m hoping this is just a start,” added Divya.
Playing Gukesh is ‘like playing a computer!’ says Kasparov
The man with the ‘golden arms’, one of the predecessors of the present-day champions on the world champion’s throne, hailed as the world’s greatest chess player, Garry Kasparov, was doing commentary for the game which Gukesh bagged his pocket, dethroning Magnas Carlsen again for the second consecutive time in Jagreb. Kasparov could not resist admiring Gukesh in commentary, and plenty of his praise came even before Gukesh had managed to turn the game around and put Carlsen under pressure before going on to force the world no 1 to resign. Kasparov, who famously played some much-publicised games in the 1990s against machines like IBM’s Deep Blue, compared Gukesh to a machine. “He’s a player that’s hard to beat. Gukesh has many lives (in each game). You have to beat him many times. There is some resemblance (to computers). He has a resilience that reminds me of computers. He’s probably the most resilient player. Even Magnus has other advantages. But when it comes to resilience, he’s absolutely amazing. If you look at the infamous game against Magnus (at Norway Chess), I don’t recall Magnus ever losing a game when he had an advantage of +3 or +4. Why he reminds me of computers is that with machines, you lose your concentration, and you’re dead. With Gukesh, you have to beat him five times,” Kasparov said. After the defeat, Kasparov had said: “Now we can question Magnus’ domination. This is not just his second loss to Gukesh; it’s a convincing loss. It’s not a miracle… or that Gukesh just kept benefitting from Magnus’ terrible mistakes. It was a game that was a big fight. And Magnus lost.”
Delhi’s 9-year-old chess prodigy Aarit Kapil forces Magnus Carlsen to draw!
Arit Kapil, the nine-year-old chess prodigy drew the attention of the chess fraternity on Wednesday. The chess player had almost stunned the five-time World Champion Magnus Carlsen in an online chess competition named ‘Early Titled Tuesday’. Playing from his hotel room in Georgia, where he is currently competing in the Under-10 World Championship, Aarit faced the five-time world champion with poise well beyond his years. For much of the match, the Indian prodigy held the upper hand, even maneuvering Carlsen into what analysts later called a “completely lost position.” With a rook versus two minor pieces in the final endgame, Aarit had an advantage that could have spelled defeat for one of the greatest players to have ever played the sport. However, with the clock ticking down and only seconds remaining, he was unable to convert the win and had to settle for a well-earned draw. Still, the performance sent shockwaves through the chess world—few players, let alone schoolchildren, have come this close to toppling Carlsen. Arit Kapil is quickly becoming one of the most talked-about young names in the global chess circuit. Hailing from Delhi, he first made headlines in December 2024 by defeating Grandmaster Raset Ziatdinov at the KIIT International Open in Bhubaneswar. At just nine years, two months, and eighteen days old, Aarit became the youngest Indian ever to beat a GM in classical play, and the third-youngest globally—behind only Singapore’s Ashwath Kaushik and Serbia’s Leonid Ivanovic.
Gukesh reminds of my form in 2008-2009, says Magnus Carlsen
Magnus Carlsen believes the next generation of chess superstars, including reigning world champion D. Gukesh is on the right track. But at the same time, the five-time world champion believes the youngsters need to gain maturity in several aspects of the game to catch up with the experienced set, including himself, Fabiano Caruana, and Hikaru Nakamura. Carlsen also praised the playing style of Gukesh to his from over 15 years ago, considering the control over games. “I think the kids are on track but they are not like way ahead of way ahead of schedule. Looking at the Gukesh game I feel it is quite similar to what I was doing in 2008, and in 2009, when I was when I was breaking through it wasn’t always so pretty. There was this tournament for instance, Linares in 2008, where Vishy [Viswanathan Anand] was cruising in the first place and I was just playing crazy games and honestly getting more out of the positions than kind of my pure chess skill suggested,” said Carlsen after winning Norway Chess 2025. Earlier in the tournament, Gukesh had claimed his first classical win over Carlsen and was in the race for a maiden Norway Chess title going into the final round. But the Indian Grand Master succumbed to a defeat to Caruana and eventually settled for third in the standings. Carlsen lauded Gukesh’s ability to stay in title contention in elite tournaments, despite his error-prone ways. “You can see in certain games that in parts of the game, Gukesh and Arjun are far behind me, Fabian, and Hikaru. But we’re also the very best players in the world. They’re not supposed to be our equals in every part of the game. The fact that Gukesh can actually fight for tournament victory despite having so many bad positions which he will probably not be happy with himself; is encouraging and I think it’s typical, that’s what kids do as part of the process,” added Carlsen.
Magnus Carlsen shows off incredible memory by recreating 26-piece position after 2-second glance at chess board!
Tales of Magnus Carlsen’s memory have always been part of chess folklore. There are stories of how by the time he was six, he had memorised the flags and names of over 200 countries of the world. Now, in a recent video, he has shown off his impressive memorisation skills by recreating a 26-piece position on the chessboard after looking at it for just two seconds. In the video, posted online by the chess app Take Take Take, Magnus Carlsen is given memory tests by grandmaster David Howell, who allows Carlsen various time limits — 60 seconds, 30 secs, 15 secs, 10, 5 and then finally two seconds — to look at a position before asking him to recreate the position on the board in a minute. On each occasion, there are 26 pieces on the board. The position that Carlsen was asked to recreate after looking at the board for just two seconds had appeared during Bobby Fischer’s game against Donald Byrne in 1956 when Fischer was just 13. Carlsen not just recreated the position but then also started to play out the next moves that were played in the game with almost full accuracy. Significantly, FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky reminded chess fans that he hasn’t forgotten about the jeans controversy, and took another dig at Carlsen. He wrote, “Now a serious question – as we get back to review the dress code for FIDE events this year. Carlsen was recently in action at the Grenke Chess Freestyle Open 2025, where he came out on top with a perfect 9/9 score. Posting a photo of the Grenke prize ceremony, Sutovsky questioned the dress code of the top GMs on the stage, along with Jan Henric Buettner.
