157 players from 10 countries set for Asian Junior Chess Championships in Mumbai
A field of 157 players from 10 countries will compete in the Asian Junior Chess Championships in Mumbai (Maximum City) from August 16 to 26. The entry list includes six International Masters and 24 FIDE Masters and Women FIDE Masters.
The championship is being organised by the Maharashtra Chess Association under the aegis of the All India Chess Federation, Asian Chess Federation and FIDE, and will be staged at a five-star hotel in Parel. Details were disclosed at a press conference on Wednesday by MCA president Dr. Parinay Fuke, tournament director Niranjan Godbole and organising secretary Salil Ghate. The event’s schedule covers three time-controls across the programme.
The competition will feature nine rounds of Classical chess, together with seven rounds each of Rapid and Blitz. Organisers announced that winners who are already International Masters will earn a Grandmaster norm. Winners who are not IMs will receive an International Master norm.
The Open section is headed by Indian IM Mayank Chakraborty (2500). He is followed on the entry list by Russia’s IM Artem Pingin (2477) and India’s IM Apporv Kamble (2441). These three lead the tournament’s Open seedings.
In the women’s section WFM Pratitee Bordoloi (2252) tops the list, with Kazakhstan’s WFA Mariya Kholyavko (2217) and Turkmenistan’s WFM Lala Shohradova (2159) next. Those names set the principal benchmarks in the female category.
Indian players Vignesh Advaith Vemula, Aaditya Dhingra and Akshay Borgaonkar are listed among the competitors to watch in the Open field. Swara Lakshmi Nair, Mrittika Mallick and Saranya Devi Narahari headline the Indian challenge in the women’s section.
Previous editions of the Asian Junior have produced several notable Indian champions, with alumni including Viswanathan Anand, Abhijit Kunte, Tejas Bakre, Tania Sachdev, Koneru Humpy and Ivana Furtado. The tournament’s history of producing top players was referenced by organisers when outlining the event.
Play begins on August 16 and will run through August 26 at the five-star venue in Parel, with the tournament awarding the stated norms to its winners.
