Pranav wins World Junior Blitz Championship title after Rapid silver in Al Ain

Pranav V won the FIDE World Junior Blitz Open title on Friday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Indian Grandmaster V. Pranav on Friday won the Open title in the FIDE World Junior Blitz Championship in Al Ain, UAE, notching up an impressive 10.5 points from 13 rounds. He finished a full point ahead of three players to cap a memorable tournament. He had earlier won the silver in the Rapid event.

The 20-year-old Chennai GM, who had claimed the World junior title in the classical time format last year, scored six wins on the first day of the blitz competition and carried the momentum on the second to emerge a clear winner.

Prraneeth Vuppala was the next best Indian, taking the 15th spot. In the girls event, India’s Aamuktha Guntaka finished fifth while B. Savitha Shri finished seventh.