Vignesh Vermula, Saranya Devi win Asian Junior blitz titles

Indian chess players Vignesh Vermula and Saranya Devi won the Open and Girls’ gold medals, respectively, in the Asian Junior Blitz Chess Championship on 17 August 2026. The tournament was held at the ITC Maratha Sheraton in Mumbai, India, under the aegis of the Maharashtra Chess Association.

Asian Junior Chess Championship

The Asian Junior Chess Championship is a continental chess event for junior players from Asia. The blitz format in chess uses a short time control, and the result is decided by points and tie-break scores when players finish level on points.

Open Blitz Results

Vignesh Vermula, the 23rd seed, won the Open blitz title on tie-break scores after finishing level on points with other players. Indian players occupied the top positions in the Open section, with Sharnarthi Viresh finishing second and Nandish V S finishing third.

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

Girls’ Blitz Results

Saranya Devi, the ninth seed, won the Girls’ blitz title with tactical play across the event. Prishita Gupta won the silver medal and Shanmathi Sree won the bronze medal in the Girls’ blitz division.

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

Important Facts for Exams

• Blitz chess is a fast time-control format in which each player has a very limited amount of time to complete the game.
• Tie-break scores are used in chess tournaments when players finish with the same number of points.
• The Maharashtra Chess Association is a state-level chess body in India.
• Mumbai is a major host city for national and international chess tournaments in India.

Inauguration

The Asian Junior Chess Championship was inaugurated in Mumbai by former Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Commissioner Jayraj Pathak. The event included both Open and Girls’ blitz sections.