Mumbai: The Asian Junior Open and Girls Classical Chess Championships 2026 began at the ITC Maratha Sheraton in Mumbai, with most of the top seeds starting their campaigns with victories in the opening round of the nine-round competition.
Indian Super Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi inaugurated the Classical Championship and made the ceremonial first move before the start of Round One.
The occasion came a day after Vidit was named a recipient of the Arjuna Award by the Government of India. He was felicitated by the organisers and received a warm welcome from players, officials and chess enthusiasts at the venue.
Mayank Chakraborty starts with a win
The opening round of the Open section produced few major surprises on the leading boards, with most higher-rated players making strong starts.
Top seed IM Mayank Chakraborty began his campaign with a comfortable victory.
Two leading contenders, however, were held to draws by lower-rated opponents. IM Vignesh Advaith Vemula shared the point with Neemay Bhanushali, while Kazakhstan’s FM Akhilbay Imangali was held by Rishaan Jain.
The Open Championship has attracted 85 players from nine federations. The field includes six International Masters and 11 FIDE Masters.
Mayank, rated 2500, is the top seed in the tournament.
Upsets mark opening round in Girls section
The Girls section produced a few notable results in the first round.
WFM Swara Lakshmi S. Nair was held to a draw by Vakcheri Mohitha despite having a significant rating advantage.
Aadya Gowda defeated the higher-rated WFM Mrittika Mallick, while Uzbekistan’s Liliya Belaya scored a win over India’s higher-rated Archita Agrawal.
The top three seeds, WFM Pratitee Bordoloi of India, WFM Mariya Kholyavko of Kazakhstan and WFM Shohradova Lala of Turkmenistan, all opened with convincing victories to join the lead group after the first round.
The Girls Championship features players from seven federations.
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.
