India’s Vivaan Vishal won the Asian Junior Open Rapid Chess Championship 2026 in Mumbai after scoring 6 points from 7 rounds, while Turkmenistan’s Shohradova Lala clinched the Girls title. The event at ITC Maratha Sheraton saw India and Turkmenistan share top honours among Asia’s emerging chess talents.

Mumbai, 19 August 2026: India and Turkmenistan shared the top honours in the Asian Junior Rapid Chess Championship 2026 as Vivaan Vishal of India and Shohradova Lala of Turkmenistan emerged champions in the Open and Girls sections respectively at the ITC Maratha Sheraton, Mumbai.

The Open Championship witnessed a dramatic turnaround on the final day, with half way leaders, Akhilbay Imangali of Kazakhstan and Madhavendra Pratap Sharma of India, suffering crucial defeats in the concluding rounds, throwing the title race wide open.

Capitalising on the opportunity was India's Vivaan Vishal, who registered a hat-trick of victories in the final three rounds to clinch the Asian Junior Open Rapid Championship title outright with an impressive score of 6 points from 7 rounds.

The triumph was particularly noteworthy as Vivaan, rated 2149, finished ahead of a strong field that included several International Masters, underlining his immense potential and establishing him as a force to reckon with in the future.