SUMMARY
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April Joy Claros bowed to Indonesian Laysa Latifah, 2-0, in their Girls Under-14 quarterfinals tussle on Monday, December 21, to crash out of the World Cadets and Rapid Youth Chess Championships.
Pitted against her tormentor in the Asian zone eliminations last week, Claros dropped the first game but enjoyed positional edge in the second.
Latifah, already a Chess Olympian at 14, then showed her defensive prowess to steer away from harm and eventually win, ending the Philippine campaign in the online event organized by the World Chess Federation (FIDE).
The 13-year-old Claros was the last Filipino in the fold after fellow qualifier Michael Concio Jr bowed to Chinese Renjie Huang, 0-2, in the round of 16.
It was in the round of 16 where Claros provided the shocker when she ousted Woman Candidate Master and third seed Martyna Starosta of Poland via Armageddon.
Despite Claros’ defeat, Grandmaster Jayson Gonzales, who serves as her mentor in the Far Eastern University-Diliman chess team, was elated with her performance.
Gonzales, also the national women’s team coach, nominated Claros as a wildcard bet and was not disappointed as the high school sophomore placed second in the Asian qualifiers and advanced to the world stage as No. 14 seed out of 16 entries.
“She will only get better as she gains experience,” said Gonzales, who is providing specialized training to Claros and 4 other talented youngsters. – Rappler.com
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