World Youth Chess Championships 2026: All U14, U16 & U18 Winners | ChessforKids ...
World Youth Chess Championships 2026: All Six Champions, India's Silver Medal & Lessons for Young Players
Montesilvano, Italy | Championship concluded June 2026 | Updated 21 October 2026
Six champions. Eleven rounds. Hundreds of talented juniors from across the world. The 2026 FIDE World Youth Chess Championships in Montesilvano delivered close finishes, extraordinary comebacks and a proud Indian silver medal through WFM Pratitee Bordoloi.
1. Championship at a glance
The FIDE World Youth Chess Championships 2026 brought together players in Open and Girls U14, U16 and U18 categories. Each title was decided over an 11-round competition. This is not the separate World U7–U17 competition held in Spain in October 2026.
| Fact | Verified detail |
|---|---|
| Host city | Montesilvano, Italy |
| Concluded | June 2026 (FIDE published its final report June 27) |
| Participants | 758 players representing 84 countries |
| Categories | Open U14, Girls U14, Open U16, Girls U16, Open U18, Girls U18 |
| Rounds | 11 |
| India's medal | Silver — Girls U18 — WFM Pratitee Bordoloi (9/11) |
| Best federation trophy | Azerbaijan; Canada second, Poland third |
2. Full medal table: gold, silver and bronze
All six podiums below are reproduced as independently structured results from FIDE's official closing report. Scores are out of 11; tied scores can be separated by tournament tie-break rules.
| Section | 🥇 Gold | 🥈 Silver | 🥉 Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open U14 | FM Antoni RadzimskiPoland · 9/11 | CM Damir BulgakFIDE · 8.5/11 | FM Ethan GuoUSA · 8/11 |
| Girls U14 | Zahra AllahverdiAzerbaijan · 9/11 | WIM Laurie QiuUSA · 8.5/11 | Tuana AbakTürkiye · 8.5/11 |
| Open U16 | IM Khagan AhmadAzerbaijan · 9.5/11 | IM Henry Edward TudorRomania · 8.5/11 | IM Sauat NurgaliyevKazakhstan · 8.5/11 |
| Girls U16 | WFM Veranika AbramkinaFIDE · 9/11 | Jiang TianyuChina · 8.5/11 | WIM Rachael LiUSA · 8.5/11 |
| Open U18 | IM Anthony AtanasovCanada · 9/11 | IM Emanuel KotCanada · 9/11 | IM Javier Habans AguerreaSpain · 8/11 |
| Girls U18 | WFM Valeria KleymenovaFIDE · 10/11 | WFM Pratitee BordoloiIndia · 9/11 | WIM Wang QinxuanyiChina · 8/11 |
3. India celebrates an unbeaten silver medal
WFM Pratitee Bordoloi produced seven wins and four draws for 9 points from 11 in Girls U18. She finished second, undefeated. The tournament report says she defeated Mongolia's WFM Erdenebayar Khuslen in the final round to secure India's only medal of this championship.
The gold medalist, WFM Valeria Kleymenova, finished on 10/11 and had already secured the title before the final round. China's WIM Wang Qinxuanyi collected bronze with 8/11.
| India competitor | Category | Score | Final rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| WFM Pratitee Bordoloi | Girls U18 | 9/11 | 2 |
| IM Goutham Krishna H | Open U16 | 7.5/11 | 7 |
| FM Siddhanth Poonja | Open U14 | 7/11 | 18 |
| FM Arshiya Das | Girls U16 | 7.5/11 | 11 |
Selected Indian performances shown, not the full Indian delegation. Source: Chess-Results player overview, last updated June 28, 2026.
4. The moments that decided world titles
Khagan Ahmad's resilient finale
In Open U16, Azerbaijan's IM Khagan Ahmad defeated Gleb Scheglov in the final round. FIDE describes how Ahmad overcame a difficult position and converted a rook-and-knight coordination battle against a queen-and-knight setup, finishing with 9.5/11.
Atanasov wins on tie-break
Canada's IM Anthony Atanasov and IM Emanuel Kot both scored 9/11 in Open U18. Atanasov won the gold on tie-break after five consecutive wins to close the event.
Radzimski's U14 opportunity
Poland's FM Antoni Radzimski benefited from a crucial Round 9 victory against IM Mark Smirnov, whose bishop blunder under time pressure altered the title race. Radzimski finished champion with 9/11.
5. Five lessons every young chess player can use
- Never stop defending. Ahmad's comeback illustrates that activity and coordination can change an evaluation even in an uncomfortable position.
- Calculate before every capture. Smirnov's costly bishop error reminds us to check tactical threats when low on time.
- Finish tournaments strongly. Atanasov won five consecutive games at the finish, showing why the final rounds matter.
- Value consistency. Pratitee remained unbeaten with seven wins and four draws; avoiding unnecessary losses can keep medal chances alive.
- Understand tie-breaks. Equal points do not always produce equal medals. Read the tournament regulations before the competition.
6. Championship quiz
Who won Girls U18, and who took silver?
WFM Valeria Kleymenova won gold on 10/11, and India's WFM Pratitee Bordoloi won silver on 9/11.
Why did Anthony Atanasov win Open U18 despite tying on points?
He finished ahead of Emanuel Kot on the tournament tie-breaks; both scored 9/11.
How many Indian medals were reported by FIDE?
One: Pratitee Bordoloi's Girls U18 silver.
7. Official sources, video and photo credits
- FIDE official final report (June 27, 2026) — champion names, podiums and stories.
- Chess-Results — India player overview — selected scores and rankings.
- FIDE official aftermovie — event footage for viewing; reuse requires permission.
Visual credit: ChessforKids' original SVG hero illustration supplied with this package. Photographs accompanying FIDE coverage are credited there to Mark Livshitz and Niklesh Jain; obtain appropriate permission before republishing photographs or video footage.
Editorial verification: compiled from FIDE's June 27 championship report and Chess-Results. Published scores are historical tournament results, not live ratings. No invented game move sequences or diagrams are presented.
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