In the 2020 mini-series The Queen’s Gambit, Anglo-Argentine actress Anya Taylor-Joy plays a child chess prodigy who conquers her personal demons to win a major tournament in Moscow. Now, Argentina has a real-life world champion: Candela Belén Francisco Guecamburu, 17, who just won the International Chess Federation’s World Junior Chess Championship in Mexico. The Buenos Aires native defeated Bulgaria’s Beloslava Krasteva to become the first woman Grandmaster from Argentina. Three Argentine men have held the title, including Oscar Panno in Copenhagen (1953), Carlos Bielicki in Münchenstein (1959), and Pablo Zarnicki in Buenos Aires (1992). Francisco, who grew up in Pilar, Buenos Aires province, has been competing in tournaments since she was nine.

Source: Bueno Aires Herald October 02, 2023 18:40 UTC