Faustino Oro commented on officially receiving the Grandmaster title and the Chess Olympiad 2026. Oro says that he expected to become GM during the Olympiad. Faustino notes that he is happy to play at the event with the new title. Oro spoke about it in an interview on the Aditya Sur Roy YouTube channel.

Faustino Oro

Faustino Oro

Second-youngest GM in history

“I’m really happy! They gave me the GM title before than I expected. I was expecting that they will give me the title here at the Olympiad, in the middle of it.

But they gave me the title earlier, in August. So, this is my second tournament as a Grandmaster. Before the Olympiad, I played in Legends and Prodigies, which ended two days ago in Madrid.

I’m really happy to have the title and to play as a Grandmaster here!”

12-year-old Faustino Oro became the second-youngest GM in history in May. Faustino’s title was officially approved by FIDE on August 23.

The Chess Olympiad 2026 takes place from September 16 to 27 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Faustino Oro is the lowest-rated player on the Argentina team and plays on the first board. Team Argentina defeated team Kenya 4-0 on the first day of the event.

Credit: chess24 X