The realms of gold

In 1816, John Keats published his ode On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer. It remains, to this day, my favourite English language poem. In it, Keats captured the feeling of astonishment that comes when the human mind encounters a new world of thought. “Then felt I like some watcher of the skies,” he wrote, “when a new planet swims into his ken.” That single line holds the essence of discovery—the sense of wonder when the imagination reaches beyond its former limits.

Almost two centuries later—1994 to be precise—I published, with the late Tony Buzan, the inventor of Mind Mapping, a volume called The Book of Genius. In it we sought to understand the nature of genius, and to express our amazement at the great minds that have shaped human history. Our studies led us inevitably to Leonardo da Vinci, whom we placed at the summit of that long hierarchy of intellects. Leonardo himself was not unaware of his powers. In 1482, when he was thirty years old, he wrote his famous letter of application to Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan. It was, in effect, his curriculum vitae—a document that set out, with calm precision, the scale of his achievements and the scope of his mind.

Michael Gelb, author of How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci, has described the letter succinctly, and I can do no better than to summarise his account. In his CV, Leonardo presented himself as a master of many fields: anatomist, botanist, city planner, designer, engineer, geologist, musician, painter, sculptor, military strategist, and inventor. He claimed to have designed machines for war and peace—the tank, the parachute, the flying machine—long before such things were remotely possible. What is remarkable is that, centuries later, his calculated dimensions for a functioning parachute proved accurate, even though no aircraft yet existed from which such a device could be tested. It was characteristic of Leonardo to think ahead of his age by hundreds of years.

Now imagine, for a moment, that there had existed in Renaissance Italy a daily press—La Posta Quotidiana or Il Guardiano, let us say—and that these papers had learned of the Duke’s decision to employ Leonardo. One can picture the headlines: outrage at the appointment of a mere artist, suspicions of favouritism, dark hints of impropriety. The language of scandal has changed little since then.

Indeed, such an episode has its modern parallel. When Demis Hassabis—now Sir Demis Hassabis, Nobel Prize winner—offered his help to the Government during the Covid-19 crisis, the reaction from certain newspapers was not gratitude but fury. Hassabis, an expert in artificial intelligence and data analysis, was invited to assist the SAGE committee in the fight against the pandemic. His qualifications were beyond question, his motives beyond reproach. Yet the press, in its customary zeal for indignation, attacked him for the very act of service. On 30 April 2019, The Guardian ran the headline: “Attendance of Demis Hassabis raises further questions about secretive group…” The Daily Mail, on the same day, thundered: “Anger as Google artificial intelligence expert is invited to secretive SAGE meeting…” The accompanying words were familiar—“outcry”, “concern”, “scrutiny”—the ritual vocabulary of moral alarm.

The German-Jewish philosopher Erich Fromm, who fled the Nazis and knew the workings of moral hysteria, once observed that there is no force so destructive as moral indignation, which permits envy or hatred to act under the guise of virtue. His words, written decades ago, still apply with melancholy accuracy.

I first met Demis when he was eight years old. I was giving a simultaneous chess display at a school in Streatham, playing fifty children at once. Most were quickly defeated. Only one small, dark-haired boy held out to the end, defending himself with extraordinary energy and insight. For a time, I wondered if I might draw the game —a headline I was keen to avoid: Grandmaster Fails to Defeat Eight-Year-Old. After a long struggle I finally won, but it was clear that this child possessed an exceptional mind.

Years later, as a student at Christ’s College, Cambridge, Demis represented the University in the annual Varsity Chess Match against Oxford. He went on to win the Gold Medal in Pentamind, the multi-game discipline of the Mind Sports Olympiad. He once joked that he became world chess champion “by proxy” and the claim was not entirely fanciful. Through his company, DeepMind, he was the guiding spirit behind the computer program that defeated the human World Champion at the ancient and immensely complex oriental game of Go (or Wei Chi). This was a task long considered impossible. Later, his team produced AlphaZero, a chess program whose strength and originality have changed the game itself. In this sense, Demis’s title of “world champion by proxy” is not a boast but a statement of fact. He might equally have claimed to be the virtual champion of Wei Chi.

AlphaZero’s play defies human expectation. It sacrifices material for faint, almost invisible advantages; it withdraws its own forces to the edge of the board before striking with precision; it simplifies positions even when apparently losing; and it shows no fear in the face of danger. Its strategies have forced a revaluation of human chess, and grandmasters across the world now study its games to learn new principles. Matthew Sadler and Natasha Regan, in their book Game Changer, have described these discoveries in detail. It is, in my opinion, one of the most important works on chess ever published.

Today, AlphaZero stands supreme. Were human-versus-computer matches still held, it would be the undisputed world champion. Yet this victory raises a question. If machines have conquered chess, what reason remains for human beings to play? The answer, paradoxically, is that the game has never been more popular. Young players are taking it up in greater numbers than ever before. I predicted this in 1994 during my lecture at Faraday’s Royal Institution: that the computer’s triumph would not destroy the game but inspire a new generation.

Now, children of extraordinary ability are emerging across the world. In earlier times, to win a school championship at fourteen would have been considered remarkable. Today, if one is not of grandmaster strength by that age, one may as well abandon the ambition. Among this new wave stands the young Argentine prodigy Faustino Oro.

Oro has broken record after record. At nine years and three months, he became the youngest player ever to achieve a FIDÉ rating of 2200. Three months later he crossed 2300, and by nine years and nine months, he tied for second place in the ITT Comodoro Rivadavia tournament of 2023, scoring 6.5 out of 9 with a performance rating of 2452. This result made him the youngest player in history to achieve an International Master norm, six months earlier than the previous record-holder, Vincent Keymer. Oro secured his third and final IM norm on June 30, 2024, at the Barcelona June IM tournament, tying for first place with 6.5 out of 9. Thus, at the age of ten years, eight months, and sixteen days, he became the youngest player ever to qualify for the IM title.

His progress did not stop there. On 22 May 2024, at ten years and seven months, he tied for second place in the Titled Tuesday blitz tournament on chess.com, finishing ahead of Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura—the two highest-rated blitz players in the world. He also became the youngest player ever to achieve a blitz rating of 3000 on that platform. In September 2025, Faustino earned his first grandmaster norm at the Legends and Prodigies 2025 tournament in Madrid, Spain, becoming the second youngest player ever to do so, after Gukesh Dommaraju. During the event, his live rating passed 2500, making him the highest-rated eleven-year-old in the history of chess. His performance rating in the tournament was 2759.

The record speaks for itself. In an age when machines outthink men and the press mocks its benefactors, a child from Argentina reminds us that the spark of genius has not been extinguished. Whether in the Florence of the fifteenth century or the London of the twenty-first, it is the same story: the great mind appears, the crowd derides, and the miracle endures.

Faustino Oro vs. Magnus Carlsen

Live Chess (blitz), chess.com, 2024

1. d4 g6 2. Nf3 Bg7 3. e4 Nf6 4. e5 Nd5 5. c4 Nb6 6. Nc3 d6 7. exd6 exd6

An atypical recapture, when 7… cxd6 is normally preferred.

8. Be2

A plausible if passive continuation. The engine’s recommendation of, 8. Bg5 is a far more assertive plan.

8… O-O 9. O-O

A perfectly natural way forward, although not as strong as the previously played 9. h3 [Granara Barreto-Paglilla, Vicente Lopez, 2005]. However, the best variations to receive silicon approbation were, once again, following White playing, 9. Bg5:

9. a) 9… Bf6 10. h4 Bg4 11. Qd2 N8d7 12. O-O-O c6 13. Qf4 Bxf3 14. Bxf3 Nxc4 15. d5 Nce5 16. Be2 c5 17. Kb1; or,
10. b) 9… f6 10. Be3 Be6 11. d5 Bf7 12. O-O Re8 13. Qd2 a5 14. h4 Na6 15. h5 f5 16. h6 Bf6 17. Rae1; or,
11. c) 9… Qd7 10. O-O h6 11. Be3 Nc6 12. Qd2 Kh7 13. h3 Ne7 14. b3 a5 15. Rfe1 a4 16. b4 d5 17. c5; after all of which, White enjoys a modest yet tangible advantage.

9… Bg4 10. b3 Nc6 11. Be3 Re8?!

Black can equalise after, 11… d5 12. cxd5 Nxd5 13. Nxd5 Qxd5 14. h3 Bf5 15. Rc1 Rad8.

12. h3 Bxf3 13. Bxf3 Rb8 14. Qd2 Ne7 15. Rad1?!

A natural development, but less effective than, 15. Bg5 Qd7 16. a4 Nf5 17. Bg4 h5 18. Bxf5 Qxf5 19. a5 Nd7 20. Nd5, when Black’s pieces are cramped and ineffective.

15… Nf5 16. Rfe1 Nxe3 17. Rxe3 Rxe3 18. Qxe3 Qe8?

A misjudgement as after the simplification to follow, White wins a pawn for nothing. Black does better to redeploy his knight, either by, 18… Nd7 or …Nc8.

19. Qxe8+ Rxe8 20. Bxb7 c5?

White controls the important e-file squares, so it makes more sense for Black to establish his rook along the newly opened b-file with, 20… Rb8 21. Bc6 a6 22. Kf1 Kf8 23. Ke2 Nc8 24. Nd5 Na7 25. Ba4 c6 26. Ne3, but even then, White has more space, better control and an increasingly important extra pawn.

21. Nb5 Re7 22. Bf3?!

Too routine, as White need not be concerned about the bishop after, 22. dxc5! If 22… dxc5 (but not, 22… Rxb7? 23. cxb6 axb6 24. Rxd6!) 23. Rd8+ Bf8 24. Ba6, and whether Black continues with either 24… Kg7 or …Re1+, White is doing very nicely.

22… a6 23. dxc5?!

This belated capture is now inferior to the dynamic, 23. Nxd6 Bxd4 24. a4 Re6 25. Nb7 Nd7 26. b4 Rb6 27. b5, as White is threatening Nxc5, Black being deterred from recapture with the bishop, pinned to the d7-knight. White has an edge after the move played, but no more.

23… dxc5 24. Nd6 Rd7 25. Ne4?!

Both 25. b4 and Bc6 lead to better positions for White. After the text, White’s advantage gradually deteriorates until eventually, it is hardly even a shadow.

25… Rxd1+ 26. Bxd1 Bd4 27. Kf1 Kf8 28. Ke2 Ke7 29. f4 f5 30. Nf2 a5 31. Nd3 Nc8 32. Kf3 Nd6 33. Ne1 Ne4 34. Bc2 Nc3 35. a4 Na2 36. g4 Kf6 37. Nd3 Nc3 38. Nc1

38… Na2??

One doesn’t know the time situation, perhaps this caused such a cataclysmic misjudgement. Perhaps Carlsen miscalculated that after, 39. Nxa2 Bb2, White cannot retrieve his knight from the corner. But whatever the reason, the consequence is disastrous. Black had many alternatives, for example, both 38… Bg1 and 38… h5, which offered salvation.

39. Nxa2 Bb2 40. gxf5 gxf5 41. Bd3 Ke6 42. Ke2 Kf6 43. Kd2 Ke6 44. Nc3 Kf6 45. Nd5+ Ke6 46. Kc2 Bf6 47. Nxf6 Kxf6 48. Kd2 Black resigns 1-0

A curious denouement, but a win (age 11) against a former world champion is still a win! Three other youngsters stand out as being possibly in the same exalted league as Faustino. First, the Turkish prodigy Erdogmus, our own Ethan Pang and ten year old Bodhana Sivanandan, who recently defeated Mariya Muzichuk, the 15th Women’s world champion. My initial appraisal of this victory is that it appears to be a flawless masterpiece, a masterclass in the exploitation of pawn weaknesses.

Bodhana Sivanandan vs. Mariya Muzychuk

European Club Cup (Women), 2025, Rhodes, rd. 1

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. O-O a6 5. Bxd7+ Bxd7 6. d4 cxd4 7. Qxd4 Nf6 8. Bg5 e6 9. Nbd2 Bc6 10. Nc4 Be7 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Rad1 b5 13. Ne3 Rg8 14. Kh1 Qc7 15. Rfe1 O-O-O? A declaration of intent that it transpires is absolutely not warranted. After, 15… f5 16. exf5 Qb7 17. fxe6 fxe6 18. Rg1 Bxf3 19. gxf3 Qxf3+ 20. Ng2, Black is slightly better.

1. c4 b4?

Following after Black’s previous inaccuracy, this error hands White the advantage. After, 16… Kb8 17. cxb5 axb5 18. h3 d5 19. e5 f5 20. a3 Qa7 21. Qc3 Qc5 22. Qxc5 Bxc5 23. Rc1, Black’s bishops have little scope and her king is dangerously exposed.

17. a3?!

Here, White makes about the only significant misstep of a wonderfully prosecuted attack. Her advantage could be maintained through the game’s quintessential tactic: 17. Nd5! Qb7 (Black is probably lost after, 17… exd5 18. cxd5!!) 18. Qe3 Bf8 19. Nxf6 Rg6 20. Nh5 Bh6 21. Qe2 Qb6 22. Ng3 Bg7, when White can survey a Black defence in crisis.

17… Qb7 18. Nd2 b3?

This awful mistake hands White an advantage to match her initiative. Black could ensure the status quo after, 18… f5 19. axb4 Bxe4 20. f3 Bc6 21. b5 axb5 22. cxb5 Qxb5 23. Ndc4. White now embarks on a hostile campaign that is near-perfect and irresistible.

19. Rc1 f5 20. Nd5 Bg5 21. Rc3 Bxd2 22. Qxd2 fxe4 23. Qe3 Bxd5 24. cxd5+ Kd7 25. Qf4 Ke8 26. Qxe4 Rg6 27. Qf3 Rb8 28. Rc6 e5 29. Rec1 Kd8 30. Qh3 h6 31. Qh4+ Kd7 32. Qc4 Qb5 33. Rc7+ Ke8 34. Qh4 f6 35. Qh5 Qd3 36. Rg7 Black resigns 1-0

Ray’s 206th book, “  Chess in the Year of the King  ”, written in collaboration with Adam Black, and his 207th, “  Napoleon and Goethe: The Touchstone of Genius  ” (which discusses their relationship with chess) can be ordered from both Amazon and Blackwells. His 208th, the world record for chess books, written jointly with chess playing artist Barry Martin,  Chess through the Looking Glass ,  is now also available from Amazon.

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