Faustino Oro defeats José Martínez 4–2 in Lima
The opening event of the World Record Chess Marathon could hardly have been better scripted. On the first afternoon of WR Chess's 67-hour festival at the Sheraton Lima, 12-year-old GM-elect Faustino Oro defeated GM José Martínez Alcántara — known online as Jospem — by four points to two in a six-game match worth $10,000.
The opening event of the World Record Chess Marathon could hardly have been better scripted. On the first afternoon of WR Chess's 67-hour festival at the Sheraton Lima, 12-year-old GM-elect Faustino Oro defeated GM José Martínez Alcántara — known online as Jospem — by four points to two in a six-game match worth $10,000.
Before the first move, the commentators were divided. "I don't even know who the favourite is — maybe Jose, but not by much," GM Leinier Dominguez said on the WR Chess livestream. GM Antoaneta Stefanova agreed: The match between two specialists of fast time controls was too close to call.
A Slow Start, Then the Storm
The match began badly for Faustino. Jospem, born in Lima and returning to his home city for the occasion, produced a controlled, positionally dominant game to take the first rapid. Faustino told ChessBase India afterward: "After losing the first game, I was feeling very angry. I played slow and bad. But then I just tried to forget it and play my best chess in the second one." That is exactly what he did. In a game that looked headed for a draw, he kept pressing as Jospem's clock ran down, took the second rapid, and levelled the match at 1–1.
The Clock Decides
The four blitz games settled it. Stefanova noted during the broadcast that Faustino had been too passive in the first rapid — and that he corrected it with every game that followed. He was faster on the clock in each of the blitz games, won two, drew two, and never gave his opponent a way back in. Dominguez, who had played Faustino himself in Hong Kong, put it plainly: "He's beaten Levon, Magnus, many top players — he's not really a kid anymore. He's already a very strong player."
Final score: 4–2 to Faustino.
"When I won my first game, I felt more confident," Faustino said. His next goals, he added, are reaching a 2600 rating and the top spot in Argentina's national rankings.
The match was the headline act of the World Record Chess Marathon, an open festival running until June 28 across eight FIDE-rated tournaments — blitz, rapid and bughouse — with a $100,000 prize fund and a Grand Prix worth $18,500 for the top overall scorers.
