Fausti concluded his participation this Sunday in the Tata Steel Challenger tournament in Wijk aan Zee with a well-earned draw against French Grandmaster Marc’Andria Maurizzi in the 13th and final round of the event. He completed a strong performance in the tournament, scoring a total of 7 points with 4 wins, 6 draws, and 3 losses. He finished in sixth place, three points behind the champion, American player Andy Woodward (ELO 2608). With an ELO rating of 2516, he displayed a high level of play throughout the 46 moves of the game, especially in the ending, where he took advantage of a mistake by his opponent (ELO 2611), turned the tables, and eventually secured a draw under time pressure. As a result, he will gain 10 ELO points (reaching 2526) and doubled the number of points he had earned in the 2025 edition of the traditional championship held in the Netherlands, in a town near the North Sea. Before March 10, the deadline established by the International Chess Federation (FIDE), the Argentine player was expected to participate in an Open tournament in pursuit of becoming the youngest Grandmaster in history. Otherwise, throughout 2026, the Buenos Aires-born International Master will focus on competing in different tournaments taking place in Spain. The winner of the 88th edition of the Wijk aan Zee Challenger was American Andy Woodward (2608), who defeated Dutch GM Erwin l’Ami (2634). Second place, with 9.5 points, went to Ukrainian legend Vasyl Ivanchuk (2605), who defeated Russian-born Spanish player Daniil Yuffa (2604).\nMeanwhile, the winner of the Masters tournament was Uzbek player Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2751), who defeated India’s Arjun Erigaisi (2775) and finished with 9 points, half a point ahead of his compatriot Javokhir Sindarov (2726).