MEGAN ALTHEA PARAGUA recently received her two trophies for topping both rapid and blitz girls’ Under-12 (U-12) division of the World Cadet Chess Championships in Durres, Albania draped with the American flag.
But inside the veins running in that puny, 11-year-old New York-born kid is pure Filipino blood.
The 11-year-old Ms. Paragua finished 9.5 out of 11 points in both the rapid and blitz title conquests in a pair of glorious feats that should be shared by not just by the country she represented but also by the Philippines since both her parents, Jan and Jennifer were born Filipinos.
“We hope her (Megan) accomplishment would definitely inspire young Filipinos to follow in her footsteps,” said Megan’s proud father Jan, a chess player.
Interestingly, Ms. Paragua followed in the footsteps of his uncle, Grandmaster Mark, who was also a former world champion after topping the World Rapid U-14 in Paris, France in 1998 and a current member of the national team that played top board in the last World Chess Olympiad.
It was truly a proud moment for Ms. Paragua as she bested a field of 56 players from 43 countries that included the Philippines’ Nika Juris Nicolas, who finished 23rd in the rapid and tied for ninth in blitz. — Joey Villar