Pranav and Shukhman win 2025 World Junior Championship in Montenegro
The 2025 World Junior Chess Championship concluded in Petrovac, Montenegro. Over the last thirteen days, almost two hundred and sixty boys and girls from sixty-seven countries competed for the prestigious titles. Indian Grandmaster and second seed Pranav Venkatesh (pictured below, right) emerged as the winner in the open section. He delivered an impressive 9/11 score, remaining unbeaten throughout the tournament with a rating performance of 2721, fully deserving the title. Slovenian IM Matic Lavrencic and Norwegian GM Amar Elham tied for second place, both finishing with 8.5/11. Lavrencic claimed silver due to a superior Buchholz score (a secondary tiebreaker). Final standings Open In the girls’ section, Anna Shukhman (FIDE) triumphed with a 9/11 score. Remarkably, she finished the tournament with a strong 5/5 streak in the last five rounds. Second place went to Ayan Allahverdiyeva of Azerbaijan, who scored 8/11, while third place belonged to top seed Lu Miaoyi of China. Final standings Girls The Chess Union of Montenegro is proud to have hosted this prestigious FIDE event, especially as it is the first of its kind to be held in the country. Montenegro Chess Union President Jovan Milovic thanked all the players, the organizational committee, and everyone involved in making this chess spectacle a success. Prizes for the winners in the girls’ section were awarded by Ms. Nadja Lakovic, a member of the Parliament of Montenegro, while Jovan Milovic, President of the Montenegro Chess Federation, presented the awards to the open section winners. Photos: Mitar Djukanovic Official website: https://worldjunior2025.sahcg.me/
FIDE delegation visits Uzbekistan to inspect preparations for 46th Chess Olympiad
In early March, a FIDE delegation led by President Arkady Dvorkovich visited Uzbekistan as part of preparations for the 46th Chess Olympiad, which the country will host in 2026 in Silk Road International Exhibition Center, Samarkand. Upon arriving in Uzbekistan’s capital, Tashkent, on March 6, the FIDE delegation participated in a session of the organizational committee for the Olympiad, held at the Ministry of Sports of the Republic of Uzbekistan. In his opening speech, Minister of Sports Adkham Ikramov expressed gratitude for the trust FIDE had placed in Uzbekistan and assured that the 46th Chess Olympiad would be organized at the highest level. Alisher Sadullayev, 1st Vice-President of the Uzbekistan Chess Federation, echoed this sentiment, stating that the country is well-prepared to host such a prestigious competition. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich commended the organizers’ efforts and thanked Uzbekistan for its unwavering support of chess. “We are grateful to the Minister of Sports and all our colleagues for their contributions and input to the organizational process. We discussed all aspects of the preparations for the 46th Chess Olympiad and the FIDE Congress. Everyone is involved, everyone knows their responsibilities, and we are confident that, as a united team—FIDE and Uzbekistan’s authorities—we will achieve the best possible result. This is especially true with the support of top-level officials, including the President of Uzbekistan, the government, the President of the Uzbekistan Chess Federation, and the Minister of Sports,” said Arkady Dvorkovich. The session continued with local authorities reporting on progress in logistics, accommodation, software development based on FIDE’s recommendations, and the implementation of a simplified visa process for participants and guests. Uzbekistan has rapidly risen in the chess world, with five players currently ranked among the world’s top 100, underscoring the country’s growing prominence in the sport. The nation won the 2022 Chess Olympiad and recently secured bronze at the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest. In recent years, Uzbekistan has hosted several major chess events, including Pool B of the 2022 Women’s Candidates Tournament in Khiva and the 2023 World Rapid and Blitz Championship. In 2025, Uzbekistan will host the FIDE Grand Swiss, the largest Swiss-system tournament of the year, serving as a test event for the 2026 Olympiad.