V S Nandish and Pratitee Bordoloi are 35th National Under-17 Open and Girls Rating 2026 Champions
FM V S Nandish (TN) scored 9.5/11 to become 35th National Under-17 Open Rating 2026 champion. IM Ethan Vaz (Goa) scored 9/11 to secure second place. Seven players scored 8.5/11 each. Out of them, FM Madhvendra Pratap Sharma (MP) was placed third according to tie-breaks. WFM Pratitee Bordoloi (KAR) scored 9/11 to win the Girls event. WFM Saranya Devi Narahari (AP) secured second place scoring 8.5/11. Four players scored 8/11 each. Among them, WCM Anushka Bapu Kutwal (MAH) was adjudged third as per tie-breaks.
Nandish’s first and Pratitee’s fifth National title
Both events were closely contested and a last round victory resulted in clear champions. Tie-breaks were not required to determine the top two places in both Open and Girls events. There were no National Under-17 Championships last year. That’s why players born on or after 1.1.2008 were allowed to participate in this event, despite it being a National Under-17 Championship. One more National Under-17 is slated to take place this year where only Under-17 players, born on or after 1.1.2009 will be eligible to participate.
FM Madhvendra Pratap Sharma (MP), FM Viresh Sharnarthi (MAH) and FM V S Nandish (TN) were the three leaders at 8.5/10 each, heading into the final round. Nandish defeated Madhvendra to become a clear champion, Madhvendra finished third. IM Ethan Vaz (Goa) won against Viresh to secure second place.
In the Girls event, WFM Saranya Devi Narahari (AP) was the sole leader 8.5/10, going into the last round. WCM Anushka Bapu Kutwal (MAH) and WFM Pratitee Bordoloi (KAR) were trailing by a half point at 8/10 each. Pratitee defeated Saranya to become a clear champion, Saranya was placed second. Anushka lost to Yashita Rout (ODI), still the former managed to finish third.
The total prize fund was ₹900000, ₹450000 in Open and Girls section each. The top three prizes were ₹90000, ₹70000 and ₹58000 along with a trophy each.
35th National Under-17 Open and Girls 2026 Champion – FM V S Nandish (TN) 9.5/11 and WFM Pratitee Bordoloi (KAR) 9/11 | Photo: Neelkanth Kagathara
Top five in Girls and Open | Photo: All India Chess Federation
L to R: Girls – 5th Shanmathi Sree S (TN) 8/11, 4th Sannidhi Ramakrishna Bhat (MAH) 8/11, 3rd WCM Anushka Bapu Kutwal (MAH) 8/11, 2nd WFM Saranya Devi Narahari (AP) 8.5/11 and 1st WCM Pratitee Bordoloi (KAR) 9/11; Open – 1st FM V S Nandish (TN) 9.5/11, 2nd IM Ethan Vaz (Goa) 9/11, 3rd FM Madhvendra Pratap Sharma (MP) 8.5/11, 4th Akshay Borgaonkar (MAH) 8.5/11 and 5th FM Viresh Sharnarthi (MAH) 8.5/11.
Nandish – Madhvendra, Round 11
Position after 28.c5
27…Rh3?? allowed 28.c5+- and now FM V S Nandish (TN, 2232) gained a significant upperhand Bb8 29.d5+ Kf8 30.d6 Qe8 31.Kg2 Nxe3+ 32.Kxh3 and White won the game a dozen moves later. 27…Nxe3 is what FM Madhvendra Pratap Sharma (MP, 2353) needed to play to keep the game going. With this crucial last round win, Nandish became a clear champion.
FM V S Nandish 9.5/11, finished a half point ahead of the field and gained 61.6 Elo rating points
Pratitee – Saranya, Round 11
Position after 22.f5
WFM Pratitee Bordoloi (KAR, 2102) launched a thematic attack 22.f5 after 20…Ne4 21.Nxe4 dxe4 21.c3 Nd5. WFM Saranya Devi Narahari (AP, 1845) took the pawn 22…exf5 23.Rxf5 f6? was an unforced error. Instead, 23…Be8 would have been fine for Black. 24.c4 Nb4 25.Qf2 Bd7 26.Bb6 Qc8 27.Bxd8 Bxd8 28.Rh5 Bg4?? 29.Rxd8+ Qxd8 30.Bxg4 Black is now completely down by a bishop and has no compensation for it. Pratitee went on to win the game comfortably and become a clear champion, clinching her fifth overall National title.
WFM Pratitee Bordoloi scored 9/11, finished a half point ahead of the rest and gained 11.6 Elo rating points
Replay all available Under-17 Open games
Replay all available Under-17 Girls games
A total of 252 players including three IMs took part from various states and union territories across the country. The nine-day eleven-round Under-17 Rating Open tournament was organized by Gujarat State Chess Association at Rajpath Club in Ahmedabad, Gujarat from 30th March to 7th April 2026. The time control of the tournament was 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment.
A total of 110 players took part from various states and union territories across the country. The nine-day eleven-round Under-17 Rating Girls tournament was organized by Gujarat State Chess Association at Rajpath Club in Ahmedabad, Gujarat from 30th March to 7th April 2026. The time control of the tournament was 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment.
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