• ¨     Indian chess players Vignesh Vermula and Saranya Devi won the Open and Girls’ gold medals, respectively, at the Asian Junior Blitz Chess Championship on 17 August 2026.

    ¨     The championship was held at the ITC Maratha Sheraton in Mumbai, India, under the aegis of the Maharashtra Chess Association.

    ¨     The Asian Junior Chess Championship is a continental chess competition for junior players from Asian countries.

    ¨     In blitz chess, players compete under a short time control, requiring quick decision-making and tactical skills.

    ¨     Vignesh Vermula, seeded 23rd, won the Open Blitz title on tie-break scores after finishing level on points with other players.

    ¨     Sharnarthi Viresh secured the silver medal, while Nandish V S won the bronze medal in the Open section.

    ¨     Akshay Borgaonkar and Madhavendra Pratap Sharma finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the Open Blitz rankings.

    ¨     In the Girls’ Blitz section, Saranya Devi, the 9th seed, won the gold medal with strong tactical play.

    ¨     Prishita Gupta won the silver medal, while Shanmathi Sree secured the bronze medal.

    ¨     Lala Shohradova of Turkmenistan, the top seed in the Girls’ section, finished fourth and missed the podium.