Más vale pájaro en mano que ciento volando (SPA-ENG)

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Faustino Oro ya ha entrado en la historia grande del ajedrez y, por supuesto, es uno de los deportistas más importantes que ha dado nuestro país.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

The proverb in the title is one I can't attribute to my grandmother; however, it was included in her voluminous dictionary of popular sayings, which she used with unwavering precision on occasions that warranted it.

This old proverb had already been used by Cervantes in his brilliant Don Quixote of La Mancha, not just once, but in several passages of that masterpiece of our mother tongue. Although, to be honest, the ineffable Quixote used a slight variation in his dialogues with Sancho and other characters, literally stating, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," with a similar meaning to the title of this article.

Our young chess player, Faustino Oro, had that same lesson from the old proverb in mind when he opted for a draw against GM Diego Flores in the Szmetan Giardelli Masters tournament held in our country a few days before the end of the year, thus obtaining the second of the three norms necessary to become a GM.

The Argentine chess player, sometimes called the Messi of chess, thus achieved the second step in his ascent to the coveted title of Grandmaster. To do so, he had to battle fiercely in this 9-round tournament with several essential conditions: facing at least three Grandmasters, playing against opponents from three different countries or belonging to two different foreign federations, maintaining a high level of performance (above 2600 ELO points), and the tournament must be open, regulated by FIDE, and consist solely of classical games (not rapid).

He needs similar conditions to achieve his third and final Grandmaster title. He also has an additional requirement, not strictly necessary but one he fervently desires to fulfill: he must achieve this third title before March 7th to become the youngest GM in history, surpassing American Abhimanyu Mishra, who earned his title in Budapest in June 2021 at the age of 12 years, 4 months, and 23 days.

Of course, that date is merely a matter of personal pride and in no way invalidates his achievements, which were recognized in a recent FIDE-sponsored vote where he was chosen as the best junior chess player in the world. The award was announced during the World Rapid and Blitz Championships held in Doha, Qatar, a few days ago. Faustino obtained 43% of the votes, thus surpassing Turkey's Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (36%) and other talents such as American Andy Woodward (14%) and Russian Ivan Zemlyanskii (7%).

Whether or not he will become the youngest Grandmaster in chess history is merely an anecdotal fact that will surely be short-lived, judging by how the "game of science" is progressing in the modern world.

Faustino Oro has already entered the annals of chess history and, of course, is one of the most important athletes our country has ever produced.