Unheralded April Joy Claros saw her fairytale run end after yielding to Indonesian Laysa Latifah, 2-0, in the quarterfinals of the girls 14-under of the FIDE World Cadets and Youth Rapid Chess Championships Monday.
The 13-year-old Claros had a chance to level the score after dropping the first of their two-game duel when she gained a positional advantage in the middle game.
But she failed to convert it and allowed Latifah to dig her way out of trouble and snatch the win.
It was a heartbreaking defeat for the incoming sophomore at Far Eastern University-Diliman, who made it this far despite being only a wildcard entry and seeded 14
Pinay chesser s fairytale run comes to a halt | Tempo – The Nation s Fastest Growing Newspaper tempo.com.ph - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from tempo.com.ph Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Published December 20, 2020, 1:46 PM
April Joy Claros stunned third seed Martyna Starosta of Poland in their “Armageddon” tiebreak game to gatecrash into the quarterfinals of the girls’ Under-14 FIDE World Cadets and Youth Rapid Chess Championships Sunday.
Seeded only 14th out of the 16 who made it to the knockout phase, the 13-year-old Claros beat Starosta in the second of their two-game duel to knot the count at 1-1 all and then won the deciding game with the black pieces in 55 moves of a Caro-Kann Defense to complete the shock win and advance to the quarters.
It was a strong victory for Claros, who made it to the tournament via wildcard entry.
Published December 13, 2020, 2:46 PM
April Joy Claros and Michael Concio Jr. pulled off impressive victories to lead their respective divisions after five rounds in the Asian qualifier of the FIDE World Youth Rapid Championship Saturday.
Claros, who made it in the tournament via wildcard entry, downed United Arab Emirates’ Mohamed Al Muaini Aisha to claim her fifth straight victory and a share at the helm with equally unbeaten Laysa Latifah of Indonesia going into the final two rounds Sunday in the girls’ 14-under class.
Concio, for his part, smashed FIDE Master Krishna S Rohith of India to keep his grip of the solo lead in the open 16-under with 4.5 points, half a point ahead of a five-player pack headed by International Master Daniel Quizon with four points.
Claros, Concio lead division in FIDE World Youth Rapid Championship qualifier | Tempo – The Nation s Fastest Growing Newspaper tempo.com.ph - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from tempo.com.ph Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.