Faustino Oro and the power of trusting yourself

Added on 10/1/2024

By Alejandro Oro

It could have been a short-lived story with a disappointing ending. In fact, our European adventure did not start all that well.

We moved from Argentina to Spain in December 2023, and shortly after setting foot in Barcelona, Fausti achieved 10^th place in the Ibero-American Rapid Championship. This result made some headlines, but more importantly, it was very reassuring for us.

Based on that performance, we set our respective expectations for the World Rapid and Blitz Championship in Uzbekistan. Fausti believed he could score 6/13 points in Rapid and 11/21 in Blitz. This matched my own expectations, which I always keep to myself and never share with him.

None of that happened: He scored 4 and 8.5.

Making matters worse, a month later, in a round-robin tournament for GM norms held in Saudi Arabia, Faustino finished last in a tournament for the first time in his life, with 1.5 out of 9. Even his online rating wasn't going well, and he hit his lowest point, falling below 2700, a rating he had not dipped under in almost two years.

It was time to toughen up and endure. It's like castling right when your opponent is building a menacing attack against your Kingside. We had to demonstrate to ourselves that we could effectively turn defeats into learning experiences. Fausti had to become stronger. We had to trust ourselves and the process. As the Chinese proverb says, a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. And that step, without a doubt, is hard work. And so it was, always respecting the rules we set together with Fausti—about which I will write in an upcoming article—when he expressed his desire to devote himself to chess.

My wife and I left our jobs in Argentina to pursue one goal: give our only son better opportunities to achieve his potential. No matter what we had to give up. Fausti would have been born into the wrong family if we were not willing to make these sacrifices to provide him with that chance. If we were to leave this world soon, the one thing we would not regret is having sacrificed material things for family dreams. In this case, the dream of our only son to play chess professionally.

What many considered a mistake, today is a success thanks to that faith.

As his parents, success is defined by creating this opportunity. Whether he achieves it or not, it is in his hands. So far, Fausti has just taken one step on his path, just the beginning of his journey.

Now, his immediate goals are to achieve his first GM norm and continue raising his Elo. Despite all the hype, we are not discussing the GM title yet, because to earn the title, three norms are required, and to get three norms, you must achieve the first one. Again, the journey of a thousand miles… Fausti understands this better than most adults. He knows that when you sit down to eat, first comes the starter, then the main course, and finally dessert. It is no good to try to eat all three at once.

The reality is that settling in Spain has been much more difficult than expected, even though Fausti and I have Spanish nationality. Opening a bank account, renting an apartment, validating my driver's license, obtaining my wife's residence permit… and even getting Fausti enrolled in school—everything was an odyssey. Chess is not football. And we don't enjoy the shortcuts that are often available to more famed sportspersons.

But that attitude of having to fight for everything has strengthened our family. We never doubted Faustino's potential, but we also avoid putting any kind of pressure on him since he is 10 years old. Just 10 years old. The easiest decision would have been to back off after the setback in Saudi Arabia, return to Argentina, and abandon the journey before long.

But those who don't fight for what they want don't deserve what they desire.