Clawing his way in the championship match, the School of Engineering and Architecture Tigers’ Francis Liane Francisco beat undefeated Accountancy Griffins’ Ray Abie Karfael Campaña in a 2-1 finals escape.

Prevailing in the close finals series, Francisco said that his primary challenge before and during the games was thinking about what openings he should use because it depends on the opponent.

“By preparing the right opening for your right opponent, you are able to exploit the openings that they are not used to… If I use an unorthodox opening against them, they don’t know how to play against it, and they’ll have a hard time trying to retaliate.” 

Despite only starting to join chess competitions back in Grade 12, the first-year Aerospace Engineering student learned from his previous matches, where he saw tactics that helped him successfully close out the tournament.

“I wanted to make positions where I can make tactics. I wanted to create a short game so that my opponent will have a hard time trying to navigate and make the best moves,” he said.

In the eliminations round, both finalists were the top seeds, where Campaña was the sole lead at 4-0 while Francisco ended at 2-1, who eventually claimed the top spot after conquering Social Sciences (SS) Dragons’ Jhon Henson Sanchez in an armageddon match.

Meanwhile, Sanchez took home the bronze against Business and Management Vipers’ Khalil Mamontuan in another tight match at 2-1. 

This year’s Palarong Atenista Chess competition was held at F213 on September 15, 2024.