Western Asian Junior/Girls Blitz Chess Championship 2024

The Western Asian Junior/Girls Blitz Chess Championship 2024 was held on 20th July 2024 at Citrus Waskaduwa, Kalutara, Sri Lanka. This event was part of the FIDE Guinness record attempt for one million games, coinciding with International Chess Day. The Chess Federation of Sri Lanka organized the championship under the auspices of the Asian Chess Federation and FIDE. The championship featured Under 20 players from Western Asian Chess Federations (Zones 3.1, 3.2, 3.4, 3.7, and 3.8) affiliated with the Asian Chess Federation. The event was conducted in both open and girls’ categories separately, following a 9-round Swiss format with a time control of 3 minutes plus a 2-second increment per move.

Open Championship

In the open championship, 23 players competed. FM Satbek Akhmedinov of Kazakhstan won the championship, scoring 7.5/9 points. Despite tying in points with FM Eldiyar Orozbaev of Kyrgyzstan, Satbek secured the title through a better tie-break. FM Eldiyar Orozbaev finished as the first runner-up, while FM M. D. Imran of India secured the second runner-up position with 7/9 points. D. C. B. K. Senevirathne of Sri Lanka placed fourth with 6.5/9 points.

Girls Championship

In the girls’ championship, 29 players competed. WFM Jain Sachi of India won the championship, scoring 7.5/9 points. She won the title through a superior tie-break against WIM Zeinep Sultanbek of Kazakhstan, who finished as the first runner-up. WIM Mariya Kholyavko of Kazakhstan secured the second runner-up position with 7/9 points, while WFM Devindya Oshini Gunawardhana of Sri Lanka placed fourth with 6.5/9 points.

Congratulations to all the winners for their outstanding performances