12-year-old Faustino Oro defeats Jose Martinez 4-2 in Lima!
The Argentine prodigy 12-year-old Faustino Oro travelled to his rival José Martínez's home city Lima in Peru and beat him at his own game - speed chess. Faustino and Jose played a match of 6 games - 2 rapid encounters and 4 blitz games and the score stood 4-2 in the favour of Faustino Oro. How did the youngster manage to do it? Check it out in this article!
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. Faustino played a six-game match against GM José Eduardo Martínez Alcántara in Lima and won it 4-2. Let that sink in.
The match was held on 25th June 2026 as the centrepiece of the WR Chess Marathon Perú 2026, organized by WR Chess in association with the Peruvian Chess Federation. The two players 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 two protagonists
If you follow chess at all, you already know the name Faustino Oro. The Argentine has been called "the Messi of chess," and 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 blitz 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?
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
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 to go 1-0 up, 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 Jose 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.
Game 1 of Blitz
Faustino got a winning position but Jose Martinez fought back. In fact in the final position, Martinez was very close to winning, but had no time and Faustino got the full point. The score 2-1 in Faustino's favour.
Game 2 of Blitz
Both players missed chances to get a big advantage. Faustino did not find the move 27...axb3 while Jose Martinez missed 28.Nc7 fork. The score 2.5-1.5 in Faustino's favour
Game 3 of Blitz
This was Faustino's best blitz game. He played flawlessly and finished off the game with the precision that we have now grown accustomed from him. With this win Faustino closed the match with 3.5-1.5 score.
Game 4 of Blitz
This game would not affect the result, but it was so nice to see Fausti's fighting spirit. In fact in one position Jose was repeating. 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 beaten a very strong opponent! Absolutely amazing!
What it means
This result is one more data point in a growing pile, all pointing the same direction: this boy is going to 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 $10,000 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 game right now.
In his post-match interview to 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 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."
