IMMauricio Emmanuel Marrujo Pardo

Mauricio Marrujo was born in Venezuela in 2010 and discovered chess on a computer when he was five or six. Nobody in his family played, so he began experimenting with the pieces before joining an academy. He won a national tournament in Puerto la Cruz after losing the opening round. His family moved from Caracas to Chile in January 2017, looking for a more settled life. Soon after arriving in Santiago, he encountered the chess players in the Plaza de Armas and was invited to a tournament at the Club de Ajedrez de Chile. He later joined the La Florida club.

Marrujo won a Pan-American youth title in 2018 and became a repeated Chilean age-group champion. At thirteen he finished third in Chile’s adult championship in 2023. Grandmaster Cristóbal Henríquez became his coach and recommended him to a foundation that supports young people; he also studied with Sandro Mareco. In interviews, Marrujo described analysing his blitz games and studying weaknesses with his coach rather than simply playing more games. Away from the board, he played on his school basketball team and followed Real Madrid. He became a FIDE Master in 2024 and an International Master in 2026. During a visit to the University of Magallanes in April 2026, he won all twenty-five games in a simultaneous exhibition for local players.