Three World Titles For India At Al-AinBy Arvind Aaron
India won three gold, two silver and three bronze medals in the World Youth Chess Championships that concluded at Al-Ain in the United Arab Emirates on December 28, 2013.
India dominated the Open Under-16 section by bagging both gold and silver. Karthikeyan Murali of Chennai and Girish Koushik of Mysore tied for the first place with 9/11 to win the gold and silver medals.
The youngster who dominated the contest with a 11/11 sweep was R Praggnanandhaa of Chennai who won the Open Under-8 section with a round to spare.
Saina Salonika of Odisha won the Girls Under-10 section with an undefeated 9/11 run. K.S. Raghunandan of Bangalore posted a final round win to pick up the silver medal in the Open Under-12 section.
Vaibhav Suri (Delhi, Open U-18), C Lakshmi (Chennai, Girls U-10), Bhagyashree Patil (Mah, Girls U-8) won the bronze medals in their respective sections.
Winning three titles out of 12 and eight medals out of the maximum 36 is quite an achievement for the Indians. A total of 1818 players from 123 nations took part in this event that ran from December 17.
FIDE World Junior Rapid & Blitz (Open & Girls Under 20)Chess Championships – 2026 in Al Ain, U.A.E. from 1st to 7th November, 2026 
Final Report of SNA Seminar & Exam at The Heritage School, Tarapith, West Bengal on 02 & 03 October 2026 
Senior National Arbiter (SNA) Seminar & Exam on October 24 & 25, 2026, at the Rotary Club, The Mall, Shimla. 
Western Asian Junior/ Girls Chess Championship – 2026 from 22nd to 31st October 2026 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat 
Western Asian Youth Chess Championships – 2026 in Ahmedabad ,Gujarat from 22-31 October 2026 
Certificate of National Under 11 Chess Championship 2026 in Mangaluru from 02-08 August 2026