World Junior Rapid and Blitz 2026 in Al Ain: Begmuratov and Roebers win rapid, Pranav V takes open blitz
Published · By TG, the site operator
The FIDE World Junior Rapid and Blitz Championships 2026 finished in Al Ain, UAE, on 7 November. Our preview from 25 October covered the schedule and prizes. This note gives the results, as FIDE reported them after the awards ceremony on Friday 6 November.
Rapid: an unbeaten champion
Khumoyun Begmuratov of Uzbekistan won the open rapid title with 7½ points from nine rounds. He lost no game, with six wins and three draws. Pranav V of India and Raad Samadov of Azerbaijan both finished on 7 points, and the tiebreak placed Pranav second and Samadov third.
In the girls' rapid, Eline Roebers of the Netherlands won with 7 points from nine rounds. Umida Omonova of Uzbekistan took silver on tiebreak after making 6½, and Marina Kuznetsova, competing under the FIDE flag, took bronze on the same score.
Blitz: a close table
Pranav V won the open blitz with 10½ points. Eldiyar Orozbaev of Kyrgyzstan and Robert Piliposyan of Armenia each scored 9½ for silver and bronze. Mazen Fandi of Syria, aged 13, was fourth on the same score.
Valeria Kleymenova of Russia won the girls' blitz with 10 points. Afruza Khamdamova of Uzbekistan and Veronika Iudina of Russia each scored 9½ for silver and bronze.
What a casual player can take from this
Begmuratov's rapid title shows that a long event is not won by winning every game. Six wins and three draws, with no loss, gave him the highest score in the open section. For a club player the lesson is simple: a draw that keeps a loss off your card is still a point you did not give away.
Blitz is different. A game lasts a few minutes, so the habit that matters is a quick check before each move: is my king safe, what can my opponent capture or threaten, and only then which plan do I follow. A check that short is easy to skip when the clock is low, which is why it is worth practising in slower games.
Practise an unbeaten run on this site
This site has no tournaments and no ratings, so the time pressure of a rapid event cannot be copied here. You can still practise keeping your losses off the card. Open the gear button above the board and choose Easy or Normal in the AI settings window. Easy mostly plays random legal moves, which suits learning the pieces. Normal looks two plies ahead, so it will usually take a piece you leave hanging.
Start a game and try to finish it without losing a piece →
When you do lose a piece, press Undo. Against the computer it steps back one move at a time, so you can return to the move where the game turned, try the other choice, and carry on. This is a small version of the unbeaten habit: keep the losses off the scorecard, one move at a time.
The FAQ explains the computer levels in more detail, and the rules guide covers the draws the board recognises.
Sources
- World Junior Blitz Championship 2026: Pranav V and Kleymenova claim titles in Al Ain — FIDE, 8 November 2026
- World Junior Rapid Championship 2026: Khumoyun Begmuratov and Eline Roebers capture titles — FIDE, 6 November 2026
- Chessplayonline FAQ — chessplayonline.com
- Chessplayonline rules and guide — chessplayonline.com
Written by the operator of this site from the sources listed above. Spotted a mistake? Email [email protected] and it will be corrected.