Mysuru: Aadya Gowda (1858 rating) of Bengaluru emerged as the winner in the Open category of the Karnataka State U-13 Open and Girls Chess Championship – 2026 organised by Mysore Chess Centre in association with Karnataka State Chess Association at Hotel Dasaprakash Paradise in Yadavagiri here recently. 

Aadya Gowda scored 8 points from 9 rounds while runner-up in the Open category Ishaan Bhansali, also of Bengaluru, secured 7.5 points. 

Bengaluru also dominated the girls sections with both Shreya Rajesh (1844 rating) and Indusheetala (1707 rating) securing 7.5 points from 9 rounds. However, Shreya Rajesh was declared as the winner through a tie-breaker.

A total of 394 players from 17 districts across the State took part in the championship with 260 players competing in the Open Category and 134 players in the Girls Category. The champions and runners-up from both categories will represent Karnataka at the National U-13 Chess Championship-2026 scheduled to be held in Puducherry during September 2026.

Karnataka State Chess Association President Madhukar, Secretary M.S. Tejkumar, Tournament Organiser and Mysore Chess Centre Founder Nagendra Muralidhar, Mysore District Chess Association President Dr. Venugopal, Karnataka State Chess Association Joint Secretaries J. Suresh and Suresh Babu, Dasaprakash Hotel Owner Das, former State Chess Champion M. Kavana, Chief Arbiter of the Tournament D.J. Ravi Kiran and Asian Bronze medallist H.R. Manasa were present during the valedictory ceremony.