Faustino Oro won this week's Freestyle Friday on Chess.com, taking down a field of 2400-plus players in the weekly rapid tournament. The 14-year-old Argentine went 7/7, including a final-round win over a 2650-rated GM who had been unbeaten all day.
Freestyle Friday uses random starting positions, making it as close to a pure skill test as any online event offers. Oro has played it five times before this week and finished in the top three on four occasions. This is his first win.
His form coming out of the Aeroflot Open, where he narrowly missed his third GM norm last month, has been strong. He told Chess.com's host before the event that he feels sharper after each tournament, "even the ones that don't go perfectly."
The GM title is still within reach this year. He has two norms and a 2500-plus rating. One more solid result in a classical norm event closes it out. Winning a Chess.com rapid event does not count toward official titles, but it keeps a player sharp and visible. Oro looks very much like someone who will be a grandmaster before 2026 is out. The record might still follow.