Claros misses winning line

MANILA, Philippines — April Joy Claros missed out on her winning chances and succumbed to Indonesia’s Laysa Latifah, 0-2, in their quarterfinals showdown to crash out of the FIDE World Cadets and Youth Rapid Chess Championships yesterday.

Down 0-1, Claros, 13, appeared headed to knotting the count and forcing an “Armageddon” playoff after carving out a winning position by controlling the central file with her doubled rooks and an untouchable central knight outpost.

But the Far Eastern University-Diliman standout played passive from there, giving Latifah the opportunity to force a series of exchanges that turned things around in the latter’s favor.