Adhiraj Mitra and Prishita Gupta are 36th National Under-17 Open and Girls 2026 Champions

FM Adhiraj Mitra and WIM Prishita Gupta scored 9/11 each to win 36th National Under-17 Open and Girls Rating Chess Championships 2026.

Adhiraj’s first and Prishita’s fourth National triumph of their career

Vedant Garg (CHAN) was the sole leader at 8.5/10, heading into the final round. FM Adhiraj Mitra (JHAR) and CM S Haridev (TN) were trailing by a half point at 8/10 each. Adhiraj defeated the newly crowned 39th National Under-13 Open 2026 champion, FM Madhvendra Pratap Sharma (MP) to become the champion himself. Haridev’s win over Vedant earned the former a second place finish, the latter finished third. The Tamil Nadu teenager’s victory certainly helped Adhiraj clinch the crown.

This is Adhiraj’s first National title. Earlier this year, he finished at 34th place at the very same event. Adhiraj has certainly made a huge progress.

In the Girls event, Shivamshika G (TN), WIM Prishita Gupta (DEL) and WCM Kirthika B (TEL) were the three leaders at 8/10, going into the last round. Ishwari Jagadale (MAH) lost to Prishita and the latter became the champion. Shivamshika drew against Pavithra R V (TN) and the former finished second. WFM Saranya Devi Narahari (AP) defeated WCM Anushka Bapu Kutwal (MAH) to claim third place.

Prishita earlier had won three other National titles – 9th National Amateur Below 1700 Women 2022, 35th National Under-11 Girls 2022 and 40th National Sub-Junior Girls 2024.

The total prize fund was ₹900000, ₹450000 each in Open and Girls event. The top three prizes were ₹90000, ₹70000 and ₹58000 along with a trophy each.

Champion in Girls and Open – WIM Prishita Gupta (DEL) 9/11 and FM Adhiraj Mitra (JHAR) 9/11 | Photo: Atul Kumar Gupta

Champion in Open – FM Adhiraj Mitra (JHAR) 9/11 | Photo: Atul Kumar Gupta

Champion in Girls – WIM Prishita Gupta (DEL) 9/11 | Photo: Atul Kumar Gupta

Runner-up in Open – CM S Haridev (TN) 9/11 | Photo: Atul Kumar Gupta

Second Runner-up in Open – Vedant Garg (CHAN) 8.5/11 | Photo: Atul Kumar Gupta

Top 3 in Girls and Open (L to R): 3rd WFM Saranya Devi Narahari (AP) 8/11, 1st WIM Prishita Gupta 9/11, 2nd Shivamshika G (TEL) 8.5/11, 1st FM Adhiraj Mitra (JHAR) 9/11 and 2nd CM S Haridev (TN) 9/11

FM Adhiraj Mitra scored an unbeaten 9/11, won the tournament on tie-breaks and increased his Elo rating by 28 points

WIM Prishita Gupta scored 9/11, finished a half point ahead of the field and gained 23 Elo rating points

A total of 193 players including two IMs took part from 25 states and union territories across the country in the Open event. The nine-day eleven-round Rating tournament was organized by All J&K Chess Association at Kangra Fort Banquet Hall in Jammu from 28th September to 6th October 2026. The time control of the tournament was 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment.

Final standings in Open

A total of 81 players including a WIM took part from 20 states and union territories across the country in the Girls event. The nine-day eleven-round Rating tournament was organized by All J&K Chess Association at Kangra Fort Banquet Hall in Jammu from 28th September to 6th October 2026. The time control of the tournament was 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment.

Final standings in Girls