FRANCHESCA Largo showed her recent successes were no fluke as she downed Yana Emilou de Vera to virtually seal the premier girls’ Under-18 (U-18) crown in the Mayor Darel Dexter Uy National Age Group Chess Championships Grand Finals in Dipolog City.
It was the 16-year-old Ms. Largo’s 11th straight victory in as many games that booked her the crown regardless of the result of her last two games including one against top seed Jerlyn Mae San Diego in the 12th and penultimate round.
It was helped by the heavily favored Ms. San Diego, who was part of the online World Chess Olympiad held just once during the pandemic, getting the upset axe from Shiela Mer Donoga.
That defeat sent Ms. San Diego sprawling down joint second spot with Marielle Agne Juzela, who also beat the former in the 10th round and Kyle Deloso Dalagan the next, with eight points apiece, or a full three-point margin from the impeccable Ms. Largo.
Ms. Largo has been on a tear since March when she topped the semifinals of the national tilt set in Tagaytay and bankrolled by Cavite Vice Gov. Athena Tolentino that she won by a point.
She made sure nobody forgets with a more spectacular performance on this one. — Joey Villar