World Youth Chess Championship 2026 concludes in grand style
Montesilvano, Italy – After twelve memorable days of intense competition, the FIDE World Youth Chess Championships 2026 came to a spectacular conclusion, crowning six new World Youth Champions. A total of 758 players from 84 countries participated in the event, making it one of the strongest and most memorable editions of the championship. The tournament produced everything that makes age-group chess so fascinating – brilliant victories, heartbreaking defeats, remarkable comebacks, and countless unforgettable games. Once again, the championship demonstrated why predicting the winners in youth events is never easy. Success at this level depends not only on chess strength but also on the ability to handle pressure and deliver when it matters most. The closing ceremony was attended by Ottavio De Martinis, Mayor of Montesilvano; GM Roberto Mogranzini, Tournament Director (pictured above); Ozgur Solakoglu, FIDE Delegate, IA Mohammad Alhallak, 1st Vice President of the World Federation for Chess Composition (WFCC); and Hisham Al Taher, General Secretary of the Asian Chess Federation. The dignitaries presented medals to the winners of both the FIDE World Youth Chess Championships and the World Chess Solving Championship. Let us now take a look at the results in each category. Open Under-18 The Open Under-18 title was decided on tie-breaks after two Canadian players finished tied on 9 points. IM Anthony Atanasov claimed the World Championship thanks to his superior tie-break score, while his compatriot IM Emanuel Kot had to settle for the silver medal. It marked one of Canada’s finest performances ever in a World Youth Championship. Spain’s IM Javier Habans Aguerrea took the bronze medal with 8 points. Atanasov’s title-winning run included five consecutive victories in the closing rounds, with his final-round win over top seed IM Philipp Magold proving to be the decisive performance that secured him the World Championship. 🥇 IM Anthony Atanasov (Canada) – 9/11🥈 IM Emanuel Kot (Canada) – 9/11🥉 IM Javier Habans Aguerrea (Spain) – 8/11 Complete final standings Girls Under-18 The Girls Under-18 section saw two players stand out from the rest of the field throughout the tournament. WFM Valeria Kleymenova of FIDE secured the World Youth title with a round to spare, becoming the only player across all six categories to clinch the championship before the final round. She finished with an outstanding result of 10/11, scoring nine victories and two draws. India’s WFM Pratitee Bordoloi claimed the silver medal with an unbeaten 9/11, recording seven wins and four draws in a remarkable performance. In the final round, Pratitee defeated Mongolia’s WFM Erdenebayar Khuslen to secure second place and India’s only medal of the championship. The bronze medal went to China’s WIM Wang Qinxuanyi, who finished on 8 points. Wang secured third place on a tiebreak after holding the champion, Valeria Kleymenova, to a draw in the final round. 🥇 WFM Valeria Kleymenova (FIDE) – 10/11🥈 WFM Pratitee Bordoloi (India) – 9/11🥉 WIM Wang Qinxuanyi (China) – 8/11 Complete final standings Open Under-16 The Open Under-16 section witnessed one of the most dramatic finishes of the championship. Amid constantly changing leaders throughout the event, Azerbaijan’s IM Khagan Ahmad emerged as the World Champion after defeating FIDE’s Gleb Scheglov in the final and longest game of the tournament. This victory gave Ahmad 9.5 points out of 11. At one stage, Ahmad appeared to be in serious trouble, but he demonstrated outstanding resilience and technique. His two rooks and knight eventually outplayed his opponent’s queen and knight, allowing him to turn the tables and secure the title in impressive fashion. Romania’s IM Henry Edward Tudor claimed the silver medal with 8.5 points after defeating India’s IM Goutham Krishna H in the final round. Kazakhstan’s IM Sauat Nurgaliyev also finished on 8.5 points and secured the bronze medal on a tiebreak after overcoming Ukraine’s FM Oleksii Karvatskyi in the last round. 🥇 IM Khagan Ahmad (Azerbaijan) – 9.5/11🥈 IM Henry Edward Tudor (Romania) – 8.5/11🥉 IM Sauat Nurgaliyev (Kazakhstan) – 8.5/11 Complete final standings Girls Under-16 The Girls Under-16 section belonged to FIDE’s WFM Veranika Abramkina, who produced a remarkable finish, winning her last four games under immense pressure to capture the World Youth title with 9 points. Her most important win came in Round 10, where she defeated China’s Jiang Tianyu, who had entered the game with a one-point lead. That result completely changed the course of the tournament and put Abramkina in control of the title race. Jiang Tianyu, who had led the standings for most of the championship and held the best tie-breaks going into the final round, could only manage a draw in her last game. She finished second with 8.5 points. The bronze medal went to WIM Rachael Li of the United States, who also scored 8.5 points but had inferior tiebreaks. Interestingly, the three medal winners formed a perfect cycle during the tournament: Rachael Li defeated Jiang Tianyu, Jiang Tianyu beat Veranika Abramkina, and Veranika Abramkina defeated Rachael Li. 🥇 WFM Veranika Abramkina (FIDE) – 9/11🥈 Jiang Tianyu (China) – 8.5/11🥉 WIM Rachael Li (USA) – 8.5/11 Complete final standings Open Under-14 The Open Under-14 section proved to be one of the most fiercely contested events of the championship. Despite the young age of the participants, the level of competition was exceptionally high, and the final two rounds completely reshaped the medal race. The biggest surprise came when two-time age-group World Champion IM Mark Smirnov of Kazakhstan slipped out of medal contention altogether. The turning point came in Round 9, in which he faced Poland’s FM Antoni Radzimski. In an almost equal position, Smirnov blundered a bishop under severe time pressure, a mistake that changed the course of the tournament. Boosted by this victory, Radzimski never looked back. In the final round, he defeated Armenia’s Artem T. Mamikonyan to finish on 9/11 and claim the World Youth title. CM Damir Bulgak of FIDE secured the silver medal with 8.5 points, while FM Ethan Guo of the United States claimed the bronze medal on tiebreak with 8 points. 🥇 FM Antoni Radzimski (Poland) – 9/11🥈