Asian Junior Chess Championships 2026 To Feature 157 Players From 10 Countries In Mumbai
The Asian Junior Chess Championships 2026 will be held in Mumbai from August 16 to 26, with 157 players from 10 countries competing, the Maharashtra Chess Association said. The event at ITC Maratha will feature classical, rapid and blitz formats. Six International Masters and 24 FIDE Masters are among participants in the Under-20 tournament.
Asian Junior Chess Championships 2026 To Feature 157 Players From 10 Countries In Mumbai | file photo
Mumbai: A strong field of 157 players representing 10 countries, including six International Masters (IMs) and 24 FIDE Masters (FMs) and Women FIDE Masters (WFMs), will compete in the Asian Junior Chess Championships 2026, to be hosted by the Maharashtra Chess Association (MCA) from Aug 16 to 26.
The details were announced at a press conference on Wednesday addressed by MCA President Dr Parinay Fuke, Tournament Director Niranjan Godbo le and Organising Secretary Salil Ghate.
Featuring some of Asia's top Under-20 talent, the championship will have seven rounds each of rapid and blitz chess, besides nine rounds in the classical Swiss format. The tournament, being held under the auspices of the All India Chess Federation, Asian Chess Federation and FIDE, will be played at ITC Maratha in Mumbai.
The prestigious junior event has in the past crowned players such as Viswanathan Anand, Abhijit Kunte and Tejas Bakre in the open category, and Tania Sachdev, Koneru Humpy and Ivana Furtado in the women's category.
Winners of the event who are IMs will be granted a Grandmaster norm, while non-IM winners will earn an IM norm.
While 157 players will compete in the classical Swiss format, 153 will participate in the rapid competition and 151 in blitz. The open section has an average Elo rating of 2,054, while the junior women's section has an average of 1,885.
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The open field is led by India's IM Mayank Chakraborty, rated 2,500, followed by Russia's IM Artem Pingin at 2,477 and India's IM Apoorv Kamble at 2,441.
The junior women's field is headed by India's WFM Pratitee Bordoloi, rated 2,252, followed by Kazakhstan's WFA Mariya Kholyavko at 2,217 and Turkmenistan's WFM Lala Shohradova at 2,159.
Other Indian players to watch include Vignesh Advaith Vemula (2,405), Aaditya Dhingra (2,403) and Akshay Borgaonkar (2,396). In the women's field, WFMs Swara Lakshmi Nair (2,155) and Mrittika Mallick (2,153), along with Saranya Devi Narahari, are also expected to put up a strong showing.
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