Hong Kong to put a new generation of players on the world stage
A host of prodigies and rising chess stars are set to take part in the 2026 edition of the FIDE World Team Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship in Hong Kong this June. While some have already made their mark in international events, for many emerging talents, the Hong Kong event will be a chance to make their mark on a global chess stage. FIDE and ISCF declared 2026 the Year of Chess in Education, with a focus on integrating chess into school curricula and supporting student development. Hong Kong will be a live version of that idea, where young players who grew up through schools, clubs, academies, and online training now compete on the same stage as chess grandees such as Carlsen, Anand, Ding Liren, Hou Yifan, and Ju Wenjun. In his address to the Hong Kong China Chess Federation, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich spoke about more youth and school chess, more rated local tournaments, and Hong Kong’s wider ambition as an Asian chess hub. For a city aiming to strengthen its chess culture, the fast-paced World Team Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship is a chance to link Hong Kong with the next generation of Asian and world chess players. Hong Kong is also the right city to showcase the shift of chess energy towards Asia. In recent years, India, Uzbekistan, China, and Kazakhstan have all won major medals and trophies, often led by young players. The fourth edition of the WRB Teams will test that strength again. Many of the players taking part in this year’s event – although in their early 20s – are already known to the wider chess world (Praggnanandhaa R, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Javokhir Sindarov, Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin, and Raunak Sadhwani, to name a few). But this is not a story of “genius children”; rather, it is about the painstaking hard work, training system, coaches, and competition from an early age that each player aiming for the top has to pass. Hong Kong is one of those arenas where young stars will test themselves against the best, as one of the fastest team events on the planet becomes a classroom without walls. Here are some of the young players to watch in Hong Kong: Faustino Oro (born in 2013) All eyes in Hong Kong will be on the second-youngest player to ever achieve the title of Grandmaster – Faustino Oro. Born in Argentina in 2013, he has become one of the fastest-rising players the chess world has ever seen, breaking records, defeating top world players, and setting up what could become a major career. In Hong Kong, Oro will be playing for Chess United, alongside former World Champion Viswanathan Anand and one of the top women players in the world, Humpy Koneru, who shaped the game before the Argentinian was even born. Roman Shogdzhiev (born in 2015) Roman Shogdzhiev is the youngest player in the tournament. Born in 2015, he became the youngest International Master in history in 2025. While he might not be that well known in the wider circles, Shogdzhiev is not a novice among GMs, having defeated five of them at the 2023 WRB when he was just eight. That same year he was the World Under-8 Champion. In Hong Kong, he gives Chess United another youth angle beside Oro. Volodar Murzin (born in 2006) Many will argue that Volodar Murzin is no longer a “rising star” but an established elite player, already having a world championship title under his belt. He won the World Rapid championship in New York in 2024, with an unbeaten record of seven wins and six draws. Still not even 20, he has more to achieve, and Hong Kong will be one of the places to do that. Murzin will be playing for Hexamind, one of the strongest teams in the competition. Pranav V (born in 2006) Pranav Venkatesh began playing chess at six and has since grown to one of India’s main junior players. In recent years he won several strong opens, capping it with a victory at the 2025 World Junior Championship with 9/11, where he took the title without a single defeat. Pranav comes to Hong Kong as part of a large Indian contingent of very strong players who have been dominating top events in recent years. He will be playing for the defending rapid team champions, Team MGD1. Leon Luke Mendonca (born in 2006) Having earned his GM title in 2021, Mendonca’s biggest success to date was the 2024 victory at the Tata Steel Challengers, which gave him a place in the 2025 Masters. He is part of Team MGD1 with other Indian stars – Pranav, Arjun and Nihal. That gives the team one of the clearest youth angles in Hong Kong, with several Indian players who came through the post-Anand chess boom. Denis Lazavik (born in 2006) Lazavik earned his IM title in 2021 and his GM title in 2022. He participated in two youth Olympiads and also took part in the 2022 WRB where he finished 16th in the Blitz. In August 2025, he started to show his real flair, winning the Masters tournament at the 31st Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival with a score of 7/9. Earlier this year he came third in the Speed Chess Championship, after losing to Carlsen in the semifinals and beating Nakamura in the consolation match. In April he won the Karpov International Chess Tournament with 6/9. He plays for Endgame.AI, alongside seasoned heavyweights Hans Niemann, Leinier Dominguez, Amin Tabatabaei, and Alexey Sarana. For a rapid and blitz team tournament, Lazavik is especially relevant because his reputation is tied closely to speed chess and online elite events. Daniel Dardha (born in 2005) Daniel Dardha is Belgium’s leading young player. The Belgian champion at the age of just 13, and the youngest ever Belgian GM (at 15), Dardha has appeared in several prominent events, playing well on youth/prodigy boards. In Hong Kong he will be playing for Chessnut Nova with Raunak, Maurizzi, and Lu Miaoyi.