Claros stumbles in quarterfinals – Manila Bulletin

The unprecedented April Joy Claros ended her fairytale career after losing to Indonesia’s Laysa Latifah, 2-0, in the junior 14 quarterfinals of the FIDE Junior and Cadet World Rapid Chess Championship on Monday.

Claros, 13, had a chance to level the score after losing the first of their two-game duel when he gained a positional advantage in the middle game.

But he failed to convert it and allowed Latifah to get out of trouble and take the victory.

It was a heartbreaking loss for the incoming sophomore at Far Eastern University-Diliman, who came this far despite being just a wild card inning and was seeded 14.^th in the 16-player knockout round.

Claros was riding the crest of her shocking triumph over third-seeded Martyna Starosta of Poland in a match that was decided through the “Armageddon” playoff which the Filipina won in style.

But he faced a familiar foe in Latifah, who repeated the latter’s victory over the first in the Asian qualifier a week ago by clinching the first game of their quarterfinal match.