Three Americans Win Medals at 2026 World Youth Chess Championship

Editor’s note: This article was updated on June 29 with photos from the awards ceremony, more photos from WGM Katerina Nemcova, and information about Beautiful Game prize winners.

FIDE provided excellent photographic coverage for this event. Still, accompanying persons are welcome to email me additional photos at Click here to show email address.

Three Americans secured podium finishes across the six sections of the World Youth Chess Championship 2026, held through June 15 through 26 in Montesilvano, Italy. The 11-round classical tournament consisted of six sections: Open and Women’s section for each age group of Under-14, Under-16, and Under-18.

Courtesy Jinfeng Liu — Photo courtesy of Jinfeng Liu.

Congratulations to WIM Laurie Qiu for winning silver with an 8½/11 finish, a half-point behind the leader, in the Under-14 Girls section.

And congratulations to WIM Rachael Li, who, like Qiu, tied for second with an 8½/11 score, but won the bronze medal on tiebreaks in the Under-16 Girls section.

The three American medalists! (Photo courtesy Katerina Nemcova)

Finally, congratulations to FM Ethan Guo for winning the bronze with the best tiebreaks of all players on an 8/11 score in the Under-14 Open section. Also in this section, huge credit is due to FM Patrick Liu, who gained 87 points for his 8/11 score and share of third place.

In all, the USA delegation consisted of 39 players, 54 accompanying persons, and Head of Delegation WGM Katerina Nemcova. A total of 758 players representing 83 federations competed across the six sections.

Studying between rounds! (Photo courtesy Katerina Nemcova)

Under-18 Open

In the Under-18 Open, Canadian IMs Anthony Atanasov and Emanuel Kot tied for first with 9/11 scores. Atanasov earned the gold medal — and accompanying direct GM norm — on tiebreaks.

IM Erick Zhao was the top American finisher, tying for sixth with a 7½/11 score thanks to a strong 2½/3 finishes. Both wins are included below:

The only other American in this section was John Blomer, who gained 16 FIDE rating points for his performance.

Under-18 Girls

In the Under-18 Girls, Russian WFM Valeria Kleymenova earned a WGM norm with her 10/11 score.

Only two Americans competed in this section. WFM Ananya Ananth finished with a 6/11 score, and Chloe Zamojski gained 30 FIDE rating points for her performance.

Ananth was also the only American to compete in the 2nd World Youth Chess Solving Championships 2026, finishing second in her section. The above link includes downloads to not just the standings for this event, but also for the puzzles given to each group of competitors, which are definitely worth checking out!

Under-16 Open

In the Under-16 Open, IM Khagan Ahmad of Azerbaijan won gold with a 9½/11 score, a full point ahead of the two IMs tied for second.

FM Dylan Tang was the top American finisher, scoring 7½/11. His grinding victory below was particularly admirable:

Several other Americans put up commendable performances, as well. In order of FIDE rating points gained: Rehaan Malhotra scored 5/11 to gain 120 points, CM Anjaneya Sripathy Rao scored 5½/11 to gain 82 points. CM Nikash Vemparala scored 7/11 for 72 points, and Michael Deng scored 4½/11 for 66 points.

Under-16 Girls

In the Under-16 Girls, Russian WFM Veranika Abramkina won the gold medal — and the direct WIM title — with a 9/11 score. Tianyu Jiang and American WIM Rachael Li tied for second with 8½/11 scores, with Jiang taking the silver medal on tiebreaks. Jiang also earned the direct WFM title.

Photo courtesy FIDE/Mark Livshitz.

After a 4/4 start, Li hit a setback in Round 5 with a loss to Jiang. But, in the next round, she bounced back in style:

In the final round, she won in fantastic style to secure her podium finish:

Likewise, a number of other Americans boasted big rating gains in this section. In order of FIDE Rating points gained: Audrey Zhou’s 6/11 score was good for 116 points, Joy Zhang’s 4½/11 score netted her 62 points, Trishona Vinodh Kumar scored 4½/11 points for 33 points, and Swagatha Selvam gained 24 points for her 6/11 score.

Under-14 Open

In the Under-14 Open, Polish FM Antoni Radzimski won gold with a 9/11 score, earning a direct IM title. Russian CM Damir Bulgak won silver with an 8½/11 score. Nine players tied for third with 8/11 scores, including Americans FM Ethan Guo and FM Patrick Liu. Guo won the bronze on tiebreaks, and Liu vastly outperformed his FIDE rating, earning 87 points.

Photo courtesy FIDE/Mark Livshitz.

Liu was playing for a share of first place in the last round, and he had serious chances to play for a win. Indeed, it was just one tragic error in time pressure against Bulgak that cost him the game:

Liu’s fighting spirit was on display for the entire tournament. In particular, he outplayed a much higher-rated opponent in the below slightly worse endgame, which is quite impressive:

Guo also had chances to finish higher on the podium when he secured a winning advantage in the penultimate game. But things are never so simple in a Sicilian Defense:

Of Guo’s many victories, his win over the eventual gold medalist was my favorite:

Other than Liu, Pranav Santhosh was the top American ratings-gainer in this section, earning 47 points for his 6/11 score. Samarth Rajesh Ragavan gained 38 points for his 7/11 finish, and FM Ted Wang gained 21 points for his 7/11 score.

Under-14 Girls

In the Under-14 Girls, Azerbaijan’s Zahra Allahverdi won the gold medal (and WIM norm) with a 9/11 score. American WIM Laurie Qiu and Turkey’s Tuana Abak tied for second with 8½/11 scores, and Qiu won silver on tiebreaks. Abak earned the direct WCM title for her bronze medal finish.

Qiu started the event with a 4/4 score before losing to the eventual gold medalist in Round 5. Her win in Round 3 was particularly impressive:

Qiu didn’t lose another game, clinching her podium spot in style in the final round:

Qiu also won a Beautiful Game prize for her Round 4 victory. As Nemcova explained, "The top games were initially selected by the Alfiere Bianco staff, with a shortlist then submitted to GM R.B. Ramesh for the final decision."

Rikitha Selvam had by far the best performance of the section in terms of ratings gains, earning 112 points for her 5/11 score.

Note: the Blitz tournament scheduled for this event was canceled after two rounds, so there are no final standings or prizes to report from that event.