National Under-13 Chess 2026: Madhvendra Beats Avirat in Title Clash

Madhvendra Pratap Sharma beat Avirat Chauhan with Black in round 7 of the National Under-13 Chess Championship 2026 to take the sole lead in Puducherry.

The biggest game of the 39th National Under-13 Chess Championship in Puducherry went the way of FM Madhvendra Pratap Sharma. In round 7 he beat his co-leader FM Avirat Chauhan with the black pieces and took the sole lead in the Open section.

Both players went into the game with perfect scores of 6 out of 6. Avirat had White and opened with 1.e4, and Madhvendra answered with the Sicilian Defense, his favourite choice throughout the event. The game reached a Taimanov Sicilian and lasted 63 moves before Madhvendra won.

In round 8, later the same day, Madhvendra drew a very long 97-move game with CM Divith Reddy Adulla, while Avirat bounced back with a win. That leaves Madhvendra on 7.5 points from 8 games, half a point ahead of Avirat. Three rounds remain.

Bouncing back straight after a painful loss is never easy, especially on a day with two rounds. Avirat's win in round 8 showed great resilience, and he is still very much in the title race.

In the Girls section, the race has become wide open. Arpita Patankar, who led after six rounds, won again in round 7 against Shreya Rajesh but lost in round 8 to WCM Nakshatra Gumudavelly. Top seed WCM Aadya Gowda won in round 8 against WCM Pooja Shree R and is back among the leaders.

Madhvendra's choice of the Sicilian Defense is an interesting point for students. He used the same opening with Black throughout the tournament and knew its ideas well. Having a reliable opening that you understand deeply can save time and energy in a long event. You do not need many openings; you need a few that you truly understand.

The final three rounds will be played over the next two days.