Mumbai, August 25, 2026: Top seeds WFM Pratitee Bordoloi and GM-elect Mayank Chakraborty moved closer to winning the Asian Junior Classical Chess Championship titles after securing victories in the eighth and penultimate round at the ITC Maratha Sheraton in Mumbai.

Pratitee strengthened her position at the top of the women’s standings with a crucial win over FM Prishita GuptaP. The victory took her tally to 7 points from eight rounds, giving her a one-point lead heading into the final round.

Her closest challenger, WCM Shohradova Leyla of Turkmenistan, was held to a draw by WCM Dakshita Kumawat and remained on six points. WFM Mariya Kholyavko of Kazakhstan and WCM Sravyasree Bheemarasetty also moved to six points after registering important victories.

In the Open section, GM-elect Mayank Chakraborty continued his strong run by defeating Daksh Goyal to reach 7/8. However, IM Artem Pingin of Russia kept the title race alive with a win over IM Vignesh Advaith Vemula, taking his tally to 6.5 points.

FM Sharnarthi Viresh was held to a draw by IM Apoorv Kamble and moved to six points, while FM Madhvendra Pratap Sharma also reached six after defeating Turkmenistan’s CM Ahmet Gubatayev.

With only one round remaining, Mayank holds a half-point lead over Pingin, setting up a tense finish in the Open Championship. Pratitee enters the decisive final round with a more comfortable one-point advantage.

Both title races will be decided in the final round, with the leading players aiming to convert their strong tournament campaigns into Asian Junior crowns.