Candela Francisco (16) became one of the best chess players in Argentina. So much so that she has just been crowned in the last Women's Continental Championship, held in Havana, Cuba, and with the triumph she achieved the qualification for the next Chess World Cup, which will be played in Baku, Azerbaijan, from July 29 to August 26.
Even so, Pilar's young woman transmits an enviable tranquility. There are only two months left before he plays one of the competitions of his life and although he is still raising money and looking for sponsors, he does not divert the focus of study, practice and concentration.
"I'm 100% focused on chess," she says. So much time he dedicates to his passion that he even changed schools and today studies at a distance to avoid faults and dedicate himself even more to the study of sport, which he does especially through a platform called ChessBase.
Candela Francisco (16) was crowned champion of the Americas in the last intercontinental, in Havana, Cuba.
"I used to be from seven in the morning until one o'clock at school and somehow I always ended up with pending tasks," he says. Today, thanks to technology, the 16-year-old chess player can manage time in the most convenient way.
Although most professional chess players generally start at the age of four, Candela started at nine by chance, while he was in a shopping mall in Pilar. What began as a curiosity ended in a first tournament, which was scored by his teacher. And although she came third, it was nothing more or nothing less than a national tournament, a detail that Candela learned when she arrived at the competition.
In the last tournament, the young woman from Pilar, who is part of the Villa Martelli Chess Circle, won the sixth round against Master Daisy Cori Tello of Peru, one of the most important players in Latin America. In any case, neither the trajectory nor the prizes of his opponents influence when Candela has to move any piece.
The 16-year-old became a Female Grandmaster and Fide Master thanks to her scores.
In this way, Francisco surpassed with this last triumph the 2300 points and was consecrated as Female Grandmaster (WGM), the title of highest female rank, and FIDE Master (FM), which can be held by both women and men with 2300 points or more in the ranking of the International Chess Federation.
Now, for her first World Cup, the chess player and her mother are in negotiations to finance the trip and get sponsors. For the moment, the municipality of Pilar agreed to take over a part while on her Instagram account, @cande_francisco, the young woman shared a Mercado Pago account to receive contributions.
However, despite the complications involved in paying for the trip (although the Municipality of Pilar covered the total cost of the tickets), Candela only emphasizes that she feels blessed for this moment: "I really have nothing left but to thank God, my teachers, the Municipality of Pilar and the Federation for making all this possible," Close
With only 16 years, Candela Belén Francisco Guecamburu, became one of the number one chess in Argentina.Photo Instagram cande_francisco
Although the now world athlete is considered hyperactive, anxious and very overdemanding, she tries to live her present as calmly as possible. "Today I mainly try to enjoy. Before I struggled with adverse results, for example, but now I handle it better," he says.
In that sense, he understands that one of the great advantages of chess is the mental dexterity it develops, since you have to think carefully about each move, because they have consequences. And under that maxim of sport, the 16-year-old understands that life works exactly the same way.
