Ep-36: Faustino Oro Makes History: 11-Year-Old Scores First GM Norm | Chess News October 2025

Young, American, Crisp, Female Voice (Conversational)

Hello, and welcome back to Chess Times—your speedy dose of all the latest in chess, straight from Chess Gaja. I'm here with GM Priyadharshan Kannappan, and wow, it’s been one of those weeks. If you haven’t been on Chess Twitter or the news feeds lately, just know: prodigies are running wild, and apparently, eleven is the new twenty-one.

GM Priyadharshan Kannappan

Absolutely! Faustino Oro, the Argentinian wonder kid—I mean, he’s just eleven years old—pulled off something huge in Madrid at the Legends & Prodigies tournament. Not only did he secure a grandmaster norm, but he also crossed that magical 2500 FIDE mark, which, you know, that’s classic GM territory. And he did it with a 7.5 out of 9 score, unbeaten against some pretty experienced competition.

Young, American, Crisp, Female Voice (Conversational)

It almost doesn’t sound real, right? But this generation just keeps pushing barriers. I’m getting strong Abhimanyu Mishra vibes—maybe even more, since Oro’s play looks both crazy creative and super mature. Like, he's taking risks, but he’s not just throwing pieces around. He’s positional, he's sharp, he's kind of scary for his age.

GM Priyadharshan Kannappan

Yeah, and it’s not just tactics—his classical sense is really developed. I remember my first international event—it wasn’t quite as dramatic, but I was so nervous facing players five, even ten years older. The pressure is real; growing up in the chess world, you usually get toughened up slowly. But Oro is handling it all so naturally, as if he belongs there from day one. Performances like this change what people expect from youth chess now.

Young, American, Crisp, Female Voice (Conversational)

And it’s happening right as the chess world is debating what’s normal for young prodigies—like, does every record get broken every year now? Standards get higher, expectations get wild, and honestly, it’s just fun to watch. Oro’s going to be a name to remember.

Young, American, Crisp, Female Voice (Conversational)

So shifting gears—top level drama in the Grand Chess Tour Finals. And then, on a whole different note, there was the wild "Checkmate: USA vs India" match in Texas. First, let’s talk Grand Chess Tour. Fabiano Caruana, what a ride! He won the whole thing, but only after a nail-biter blitz playoff against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. That switch from rapid to blitz—that’s not easy, even for the top guys.

GM Priyadharshan Kannappan

Exactly, and that’s a lot of emotional whiplash for a player. Caruana took a tough loss in rapid but just… reset completely and pulled off the win in blitz. Resilience like that is massive when the time controls are mixed. It’s almost like being in two tournaments at once. You need to be flexible—mentally agile. I think that’s what separates the absolute elite from the rest.

Young, American, Crisp, Female Voice (Conversational)

And then, speaking of flexible—"Checkmate: USA vs India" was like chess in a completely new light! Stadium seating, big screens, crowd noise, and Nakamura giving us full WWE energy at the end by tossing the king into the crowd after beating Gukesh. Not every day you see that, let alone from a world number one. The US team absolutely swept India—five matches, five wins, and the showmanship just… it blew up online.

GM Priyadharshan Kannappan

It’s causing a lot of debate, right? Some people love it—makes chess exciting, brings in crowds. Others feel like it crosses a line, that chess should keep its dignity or tradition intact. It’s not totally new—remember how stadium chess and alternative formats have come up in past episodes?—but it’s getting bolder. I’ll confess, part of me loves the energy, but I do worry if it might overshadow the actual game sometimes.

Young, American, Crisp, Female Voice (Conversational)

Yeah, I know what you mean. There’s always that tension—how flashy is too flashy? But honestly, moments like Nakamura’s king toss get people talking, and maybe that’s good for the sport. I mean, we’ve talked on this podcast about experimenting with new event styles before, and now it feels like chess is really having its moment in the showbiz sun.

GM Priyadharshan Kannappan

Meanwhile, in Batumi, Georgia—the European Team Championships kicked off, and wow, drama straight out of the gate. Denmark shocked everyone by taking down the top seed, Germany, in the open section. Not something you see every day! And on the women’s side, both Georgia and Poland started with some strong performances, while Ukraine faced some unexpected draws against lower-rated teams.

Young, American, Crisp, Female Voice (Conversational)

That’s the beauty of these team events, right? It’s not just about one superstar. If one board collapses, it totally scrambles the standings. And then Hungary—such a fun twist! They had legends like Richard Rapport and Peter Leko playing. There’s always this romance around mixing the old guard and rising stars, kind of gives it that Olympiad nostalgia. Actually, it reminds me a little of those legendary Olympiad upsets where, you know, the “underdog” stories just take over all the headlines.

GM Priyadharshan Kannappan

Absolutely. The unpredictability of team chess keeps everyone guessing. Even as a player, you don’t just play for yourself—your result can lift or doom the whole team. That pressure’s unique. And when upsets happen, it’s talked about for years, like those classic Olympiad shocks. This week just felt like another chapter in that unpredictable, team-centered storytelling that makes chess history richer.

Young, American, Crisp, Female Voice (Conversational)

And oh boy, here comes the rule drama. So, if you’ve been following this “Cupcake Gambit” thing—Hikaru Nakamura entered some much lower-rated US tournaments, basically to face less risky opposition and rack up enough classical games for FIDE Candidates qualifying. A lot of folks cried foul, calling it “rating farming” because, until now, if you played someone more than 400 rating points lower, your rating barely moved even if you lost.

GM Priyadharshan Kannappan

Right, and FIDE hit back—no more 400-point rating cap for top players, those over 2650-ish. But now, the rule change itself is catching heat. Some say it’s a sledgehammer, not a scalpel—that it might hurt lower-rated players more, and doesn’t really fix the original incentive problem. I’ve seen plenty of cases in my career where loopholes or sudden new rules caused confusion—sometimes in the middle of events! If you ask me, the real headache is transparency. Chess needs crystal-clear rules, or you end up with chaos and a lot of unhappy players complaining after the fact.

Young, American, Crisp, Female Voice (Conversational)

Exactly. You get those situations where everyone’s strategizing around the system instead of the board. I get why FIDE wanted to make a statement, but it feels like we’re in for a lot more unintended consequences before things settle. There’s frustration, but also—maybe a wake-up call to finally overhaul how we manage these rules. We’ll have to see how it shakes out next week, honestly.

Young, American, Crisp, Female Voice (Conversational)

And before we wrap, some fast highlights from the next wave of stars and what’s coming up. First, Sarbartho Mani—a 9-year-old from India—just won a bronze medal at the Under-10 World Cadet in Almaty. And on the women’s circuit, Divya Deshmukh nabbed a 2025 World Cup wildcard—her path just keeps getting more impressive with every episode we do.

GM Priyadharshan Kannappan

Can’t forget about the legends, either. St. Louis is prepping for a Chess960 showdown between Anand and Kasparov—two of the greatest, mixing it up in a different format, that’s really something for the fans. And on Chess.com, we just saw Firouzja storm back to take the Titled Tuesday win—a bit of a comeback story, right? Overall, there’s a lot of momentum for juniors and veterans alike. Reminds me of Grischuk’s recent Freestyle Friday surge—he just finds a way, even after starting slow.

Young, American, Crisp, Female Voice (Conversational)

I love those comebacks, honestly. It’s like, win or lose, you’ve always got a shot in chess—no matter if you’re nine or you’ve been around forever like Anand and Kasparov. So, what are we watching next week? The European Team Championships will keep the drama going. Anand vs Kasparov—a classic revisited, in Chess960 no less. Plus, how the Cupcake Gambit fallout actually plays out, and the early signs from this year’s FIDE World Cup.

GM Priyadharshan Kannappan

That’s a lot to keep an eye on! And with the rate things are changing, who even knows which prodigy will rewrite the record books by next week? Thanks for being part of Chess Times with us—your reactions and feedback make this all worthwhile.

Young, American, Crisp, Female Voice (Conversational)

Alright Priyadharshan, thanks for sharing your insights as always. And thanks to all our listeners for tuning in. Don’t forget to share your favorite story from this week—maybe the king toss?—and if you like what you heard, share the pod, send us your questions, you know the drill. We’ll see you next week for more chess chaos. Bye!

GM Priyadharshan Kannappan

Take care, everyone. See you next time—stay sharp on and off the board!