Mumbai, August 17: Host nation India made a strong start to the Asian Junior Chess Championship 2026 bagging the top three spots in the Open and Girls Blitz Championship, respectively on the opening day of the prestigious event held at the ITC Maratha Sheraton, Mumbai, here, on Monday.
Vignesh Vermula won the Open championship, while Saranya Devi clinched the Girls title.
The championship was formally inaugurated by Mr. Jayraj Pathak (IAS), former BMC Commissioner.
The biggest surprise of the tournament came from Vignesh Vermula, who started the event as the 23rd seed but produced a remarkable performance to emerge the Asian Junior Open Blitz Champion 2026. Displaying exceptional speed, tactical alertness and consistency throughout the competition, Vignesh finished tied on points with compatriots Sharnarthi Viresh and Nandish V S, but secured the title on superior tie-break scores.
It was a day for the underdog in the girls’ section as well with Saranya, seeded 9th, impressing with her quick thinking and tactical precision to win the title. Prishita Gupta and Shanmathi Sree finished 2nd and 3rd respectively. The top seed, Shohradova Lala of Turkmenistan, had to be content with fourth place.
Viresh claimed the silver medal in the Open section, while Nandish completed an all-India podium by securing the bronze medal.
India’s dominance was further underlined by the performances of Akshay Borganokar and Madhavendra Pratap Sharma, who finished fourth and fifth respectively.
Among the overseas participants, Akhibay Imangali of Kazakhstan emerged as the highest-ranked foreign player, securing sixth place, while Shagdldi Kurbandurdyyev of Turkmenistan finished ninth.
The tournament proved disappointing for the top seed, International Master Mayank Chakraborty of India, who was unable to find his rhythm and eventually finished in 13th place.