Tamizh Amudhan clinches FIDE Commonwealth Youth Rapid Chess Championship Under-10 Open title

Tamil Nadu’s eight-year-old chess player Candidates Master (CM) Tamizh Amudhan added another notable result to his fast-rising career by winning the FIDE Commonwealth Youth Rapid Chess Championship 2026 Under-10 Open title in Kalutara, Sri Lanka.

Tamizh, who recently drew attention after defeating world No. 7 Vincent Keymer in an online Freestyle Friday game from his home in Sivakasi, topped the Under-10 rapid field with six points from seven rounds. His only defeat came against Odisha’s CM Sattwik Swain, while he beat, among others, Tamil Nadu’s ACM Kavish Palaniappan K.

India swept the podium, with Kavish taking silver and Sattwik finishing with bronze. The result was also significant as Tamizh, who is eight-and-a-half years old, competed in a higher age category and won the title in his first Commonwealth Chess Championship outing.

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Tamizh is also competing in the classical section of the same tournament, where he has started with three wins from three rounds.

The title came after a demanding turnaround. Tamizh had been competing in the Tamil Nadu Under-9 State Chess Championship in Chengalpattu last week and was leading after eight rounds before leaving the event to represent India in Sri Lanka.

“In the State Championship, the ninth-round game was starting at 9.00 am and the matches in Sri Lanka also started at 9.30 am. After the eighth round, which ended at 8.30 pm, we took a flight after midnight at 1.30 am, reached our hotel at 5.30am in Sri Lanka, and then travelled for one hour for the competition. Finally, this win was worth it,” his father Sathish Arumugam told Sportstar.

“He played the State Championship last year, where he finished second on tie-break and won silver. This year, he could have won gold easily, but he wanted to represent the country,” he added.

Published on May 19, 2026