Indian Grandmaster Pranav Venkatesh has been crowned champion in the Open section of the FIDE World Junior Blitz Championship in Al Ain, in the United Arab Emirates, scoring 10.5 points from 13 rounds on Friday, November 6, the Times of India reported. The 20-year-old finished a full point ahead of three players who shared second place with 9.5 points each.

Source: Times of India, via The Bharath News

10.5 / 13Pranav's winning score in the blitz Open section
9.5Points shared by the three runners-up
7 / 9Pranav's score for silver in the rapid section
20Pranav's age — Grandmaster from Chennai

Pranav had set the pace early, ending the first day of the blitz event tied at the top of the Open leaderboard with six points, and carried that momentum through the remaining rounds to emerge as the outright champion, MyKhel reported in its account of the final standings. The blitz competition was played over 13 rounds under a Swiss format.

Source: MyKhel

Gold after rapid silver in the same week

The blitz triumph capped an impressive campaign at the FIDE World Junior Rapid and Blitz Championships in Al Ain. Earlier in the same championships, Pranav had won the silver medal in the Open section of the World Junior Rapid Championship, scoring seven points from nine rounds, the Times of India and The Bridge both reported.

Source: The Bridge

Pranav, who is from Chennai, had already won the FIDE World Junior Championship in the classical time control last year, so the Al Ain gold adds a second world junior crown in a different format to his record. In the women's blitz section in Al Ain, India's Aamuktha Guntaka scored nine points, while Savitha Shri scored 8.5 points, The Bridge reported.