National Under-13 Chess 2026: Madhvendra and Avirat Perfect After 6

Madhvendra Pratap Sharma and Avirat Chauhan lead the National Under-13 Open Chess Championship 2026 with 6/6, while Arpita Patankar leads the Girls section.

After six rounds of the 39th National Under-13 Chess Championships in Puducherry, the Open section has two players with perfect scores. FM Madhvendra Pratap Sharma of Madhya Pradesh and FM Avirat Chauhan of Maharashtra have both won all six of their games.

Madhvendra's wins have often come with the Sicilian Defense when he has the black pieces. In round 6 he beat FM Shubh Atha in a Najdorf Sicilian. Avirat has also been in fine form, winning several of his games with checkmate on the board.

The two leaders meet in round 7, a game that could decide the title. Right behind them is a group of players on 5.5 points, including Rahul Ramakrishnan, Advik Reddy Moate, Joshi Aditya Shripad and CM Divith Reddy Adulla.

The Girls section has a surprise leader. Arpita Patankar of Gujarat is the only player with a perfect 6 out of 6. Her key win came in round 5 against the top seed, WCM Aadya Gowda, in the Dutch Defense. A big group of players is half a point behind her, so the second half of the event should be very exciting.

The halfway point of a long tournament is a good moment to think about pacing. Players with perfect scores face stronger and stronger opponents as the rounds go on, because the Swiss system pairs players with similar scores. Keeping your concentration high for eleven rounds is not easy. Getting good rest on the free evenings is part of good tournament preparation.

For players who are a point or two behind, this is no time to give up. In an 11-round event there are plenty of chances to climb the table, and many tournaments are decided in the final rounds. Focus on playing good moves in each game, and the results will follow.

Five rounds remain.