Mumbai, Aug 20 (IANS) The prestigious Asian Junior Open and Girls Classical Chess Championships 2026 got underway at the ITC Maratha Sheraton, Mumbai, with the top seeds largely justifying their ratings in the opening round of the nine-round tournament.
The championship received a special boost with the presence of Indian Super Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi, who inaugurated the Classical Championship and made the ceremonial first move before the start of Round One.
The occasion was particularly significant as Vidit had been named a recipient of the prestigious Arjuna Award by the Government of India just a day earlier. He was felicitated by the organisers and received a warm welcome from players, officials and chess enthusiasts present at the venue.
The opening round witnessed a few major surprises on the top boards as the higher-rated players asserted their superiority.
Top seed IM Mayank Chakraborty began his campaign with a comfortable victory. However, two of the leading contenders were held to draws by lower-rated opponents. IM Vignesh Advaith Vemula was forced to share the point with Neemay Bhanushali, while Rishaan Jain held FM Akhilbay Imangali of Kazakhstan. These early setbacks could prove significant in a closely contested championship.
The opening round in the Girls’ section, however, produced a couple of notable upsets. WFM Swara Lakshmi S. Nair was held to a draw by Vakcheri Mohitha despite enjoying a significant rating advantage. At the same time, Aadya Gowda scored an impressive victory over the higher-rated WFM Mrittika Mallick. Another surprise result saw Liliya Belaya of Uzbekistan defeat the higher-rated Archita Agrawal of India.
The Open Championship has attracted a strong field of 85 players representing nine federations. The tournament features six International Masters and eleven FIDE Masters, making it one of the strongest junior events in Asia. Leading the field is top seed International Master Mayank Chakraborty of India, rated 2500.
The Girls Championship has attracted players from seven federations and promises to be equally competitive. The top three seeds, WFM Pratitee Bordoloi of India, WFM Mariya Kholyavko of Kazakhstan and WFM Shohradova Lala of Turkmenistan, all opened their campaigns with convincing victories to move into the lead group after the first round.
The championship is being organised by the Maharashtra Chess Association on behalf of the All India Chess Federation and the Asian Chess Federation at the ITC Maratha Sheraton, Mumbai.
–IANS
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