The Asian Junior Open and Girls Classical Chess Championships 2026 got underway at the ITC Maratha Sheraton in Mumbai, with most of the top seeds justifying their ratings in the opening round of the nine-round event.Indian Super Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi inaugurated the Classical Championship and made the ceremonial first move before the start of Round One. The occasion was particularly significant as Vidit was named a recipient of the prestigious Arjuna Award by the Government of India a day earlier. He was felicitated by the organisers and received a warm welcome from players, officials and chess enthusiasts at the venue.The opening round of the Open Championship produced few major surprises on the top boards, with higher-rated players largely asserting their superiority. Top seed IM Mayank Chakraborty began his campaign with a comfortable victory.However, two leading contenders were held to draws by lower-rated opponents. IM Vignesh Advaith Vemula was forced to share the point with Neemay Bhanushali, while FM Akhilbay Imangali of Kazakhstan drew with Rishaan Jain. The early dropped points could prove significant in a closely contested championship.The Girls section produced a couple of notable upsets. WFM Swara Lakshmi S. Nair was held to a draw by Vakcheri Mohitha despite having a significant rating advantage, while Aadya Gowda defeated the higher-rated WFM Mrittika Mallick.Another surprise result saw Liliya Belaya of Uzbekistan defeat India’s higher-rated Archita Agrawal.The Open Championship has attracted 85 players from nine federations. The field includes six International Masters and 11 FIDE Masters, making it one of the strongest junior events in Asia. Leading the field is top seed IM Mayank Chakraborty of India, rated 2500.The Girls Championship has players from seven federations and is expected to be equally competitive. The top three seeds — WFM Pratitee Bordoloi of India, WFM Mariya Kholyavko of Kazakhstan and WFM Shohradova Lala of Turkmenistan — all opened their campaigns with convincing victories and moved into the lead group after the first round.The championship is being organised by the Maharashtra Chess Association on behalf of the All India Chess Federation and the Asian Chess Federation at the ITC Maratha Sheraton in Mumbai.