ChessKid Youth Championships Start February 21!
ChessKid is excited to announce that the ChessKid Youth Championships are back for 2026, bringing together some of the strongest prodigies in the world for two weekends of fast-paced online action! Some familiar names from our Top 5 Chess Prodigies to Watch in 2026 feature will be competing this year, so be sure to tune in.The Under-13 division takes place February 21–22, followed by the Under-16 division on March 7–8. Each section features a group round-robin leading into a four-player knockout stage, all played at an exciting 3+1 blitz time control.
With a $15,000 prize fund (yes, you read that right!) and a global field of rising stars, the ChessKid Youth Championships continue to showcase the future of chess by giving young talents a chance to compete on a world stage while fans like you get to watch the next generation of champions in action!
Watch Live!
All matches will be broadcast on Twitch and YouTube with ChessKid's FunMasterMike commentating!
FunMasterMike and GM Ben Finegold commentate 2025's YCC event!
Under-16 Division Highlights
This year’s Under-16 field is one of the strongest yet, featuring elite young stars from around the world:
- GM Andy Woodward returns to defend his title after a dominant 2025 performance and continues to prove himself among the top young talents globally.
- GM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, a former Youth Champion and rising superstar, enters as one of the event favorites following a remarkable breakout year.
- IM Faustino Oro, often called the “Messi of chess,” brings his dynamic style and rapid rise toward the grandmaster title.
- IM Lu Miaoyi, one of the world’s top young female players, joins the field after an impressive year of results.
They’ll be joined by a stacked lineup including GM Sina Movahed, IM Henry Edward Tudor, IM Ryo Chen, IM Tani Adewumi, IM Aaron Mendes, IM Patryk Cieslak, and FMs Sergey Sklokin and Megan Paragua.
Yagiz contemplating his next move. Photo: Sharjah Chess Club
Under-13 Division Highlights
The Under-13 section features an exciting mix of established young champions and rising talents:
WIM Bodhana Sivanandan headlines the field as one of the most accomplished young players of her generation, already making history on the international stage.
The lineup also includes standout young competitors such as FM Ashwath Kaushik, Reyaansh Chakrabarty, Supratit Banerjee, Marc Llari, Linxi Zhu, Ethan Guo, Aarav Sarbalia, Ali Poyraz Uzdemir, CM Luca Protopopescu, Marc Barcelo, and Hardy Gu.
Want to learn more about the young talents competing? Check out our article about the Under-13 lineup.
The 2026 ChessKid Youth Championships are set to be bigger and more exciting than ever, and we can’t wait to bring you all the action.