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Philippines, 04 Apr 2025 |
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11-Year-Old Filipino-American Megan Paragua Makes History by Winning the World Cadet Rapid & Blitz Championships By Marlon Bernardino PhilBoxing.com Sun, 28 Apr 2024  Manila---Woman FIDE Master (WFM) Megan Althea Obrero Paragua lifted the World Cadet Rapid & Blitz Championships 2024 trophy after a 66-move victory using the Catalan Opening with the black pieces against the 35th seed, Vietnamese Hong Ha My Nguyen in the Rapid Girls 12 and under category on Sunday (Manila Time, wee hours) at the Grand Blue FAFA Resort in Durres, Albania. The 11-year-old WFM Megan Althea, niece of GM Mark Callano Paragua, made history as the first Filipino-American to win a World Cadet Rapid & Blitz Championships. "I think I played very well and was mentally strong, and I am happy I was able to keep my composure throughout the match," said WFM Megan Althea, a Filipino by blood, representing the United States Chess Federation. About her historic triumph, WFM Megan Althea said, "it's very overwhelming right now. But I think this is a huge step for me personally as well. I am super happy to represent my country and do something worthwhile for the big platform and being able to inspire other younger people." "I am very happy with the way I handled each and every point. I had a lot of moments in this tournament where I was down, and I could have lost a set and could have gotten mad easily but I didn't. I think my behavior throughout the whole week was something I can be proud of," said the 5th Grade Pupil of Columbia Grammar Preparatory School New York City, playing under the guidance of Sophia Rhode. WFM Megan Althea defeated Nurhan Babanazarova of Turkmenistan (Round 1), Alicja Gruszecka of Poland (Round 2), Khanzada Amanzhol of Kazakhstan (Round 3), Le Vy Tran of Vietnam (Round 4), and Nguyen Minh Chi of Vietnam (Round 5). She snapped her six-match winning streak when she had a draw against Thai Hoang An Tong of Vietnam in the sixth round. Then WFM Megan Althea beat Nika Venskaya of Russia in the seventh round and Varvara Matskevich of Poland in the eighth round. She shared the point with Daliya Diaskyzy of Kazakhstan in the ninth round and Anastasiya Aleks Barabash of Russia in the tenth and penultimate round before beating Viet Hong Ha My Nguyen in the last round. WFM Megan Althea, the top player of Empire Chess Training School of Chess in the USA, is set to compete in the 2024 US Girls' Junior Championship in July in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA. WFM Megan Althea is the daughter of Jan Vincent and Jennifer Obrero-Paragua from Marilao, Bulacan. It shall be recalled that WFM Megan Althea settled for the runner-up trophy behind eventual winner Devindya Oshini Gunawardhana of Sri Lanka of the FIDE World Cadets and Youth Rapid Chess Championships Girls 10 and under virtually (online chess tournament during the pandemic time) held at Tornelo Platform on August 31, 2021. "WFM Megan Althea will go a long, long way in her chess career. We expect WFM Megan Althea to bring more honors to the country, and her accomplishment would definitely inspire young Filipinos to follow in her footsteps,” said proud father Jan Vincent. "Congratulations WFM Megan Althea Obrero Paragua. You have made all the Filipino chess players very proud of what you have done," said National Chess Federation of the Philippines Chairman/President Prospero "Butch" Arreza Pichay Jr. WFM Megan Althea took the gold with 9.5 points on account of 8 wins and 3 draws. Nika Venskaya of Russia wound up solo second with 8.5 points and earned the silver medal. Khanzada Amanzhol of Kazakhstan won the bronze medal after beating fellow eight pointers in the tie break points namely third placer Daliya Diaskyzy of Kazakhstan, fourth placer and fifth placer Anastasiya Aleks Barabash of Kazakhstan. Solo sixth place is Varvara Matskevich of Poland with 7.5 points. Rounding off the top 12 who got 7.0 points each are Nguyen Minh Chi (Vietnam), Le Vy Tran (Vietnam), Thai Hoang An Tong (Vietnam), Hong Ha My Nguyen (Vietnam), Alicja Gruszecka (Poland), and Michalina Popczynska (Poland). Meanwhile, National Master (NM) Nika Juris Nicolas of the Philippines wrapped her campaign with overall 23rd placers. The 11-year-old NM Nika Juris and a student of Victory Christian International School tallied six points, a good share of 17th to 25th placers which attracted 43 countries and 56 players. -Marlon Bernardino- Photo: Albania President Bajram Begaj (L) poses with 11-year-old Woman Fide Master (WFM) Megan Althea Obrero Paragua who won the World Cadet Rapid & Blitz Championships in Durres, Albania. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Marlon Bernardino.  |
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