MANILA, Philippines – Christain Gian Karlo Arca and Franchesca Largo gave a clear glimpse of the future of Philippine chess as they topped the premier Under-18 division of the National Age Group Chess Championships grand finals in Dipolog City over the weekend.
Arca, just 14 years old, showed he can hang with the big boys as he ruled the U-18 open section by edging top seed Mark Jay Bacojo, whom the former finished with 10.5 points apiece out of 11 rounds, via higher tiebreaker in this weeklong tournament bankrolled by Dipolog City Mayor Darel Dexter Uy.
It was another feather in the cap for Arca, who topped the semis edition of this same age class last month, the boy’s U14 section of the Eastern Asian Youth Chess Championship in Bangkok, Thailand and the GM Balinas youth tilt last year. These feats reinforced notion that he will be lead piece for the country future in the sport.
The 17-year-old Largo, for her part, was equally impressive as she swept all the 13 games to run away with the girls’ U-18 crown.
Other winners were Jersey Marticio and Tyrhhone James Tabernilla (U-16), Kaye Lalaine Regidor and Keith Adriane Ilar (U-14), Mar Aviel Carredo and Zhaoyu Capilitan (U-12) and Mary Janelle Tan and Steve Zacky Bolico (U-10).