Siddharth Jagadeesh is World U-18 Champion
GM Siddharth Jagadeesh (Singapore) with a 8.5/11 score took the World U-18 Open title with a superior tie-break in the World Youth U14, U16 & U18 Championships 2025 at Durres, Albania. Also, sharing the top spot at 8.5 points were IMs Stribuk Artiom (FIDE), Sriram Adarsh Uppala (India) and Seemann Jakub (Poland).
The FIDE world youth chess event brought together 720 players from 83 federations to the dazzling venue the Grand Blue Fafa Resort in Durrës, Albania. The 11 round Swiss tournament ran from 4th to 15th October, 2025 sandwiched with a day of rest in the middle. Titled players include 4 Grandmasters, 33 International Masters, 16 Woman International Masters and 109 FIDE Masters.
With a rating performance of ELO 2633 Siddharth gains 23.7 rating points for his title show. Remaining undefeated until the final round, the 11th seeded Singapore boy led the whole tournament before landing the crown. Fresh from his world Under 18 title triumph, Siddharth will now proceed to Goa, India for the FIDE World Cup starting on 1st November, 2025.
In a grand closing ceremony, GM Erald Dervishi, President of the Albanian Chess Federation said, “Under the guidance of FIDE, and with the support of our partners, we have successfully hosted another world-class event that brings together young champions from around the globe. This tournament is a testament to what passion, teamwork, and vision can achieve.”
Medal winner’s list
Open Under 18
Gold: Siddharth Jagadeesh (Singapore)
Silver: Stribuk Artiom (FIDE)
Bronze: Sriram Adarsh Uppala (India)
Girls Under 18
Gold: Gao Muziyan (China)
Silver: Schippke Manon (France)
Bronze: Kleymenova Valeria (FIDE)
Open Under 16
Gold: Mamedov Edgar (Kazakhstan)
Silver: Nurgaliyev Sauat (Kazakhstan)
Bronze: Volodin Alexandr E (FIDE)
Girls Under 16
Gold: Khafizova Diana (FIDE)
Silver: Kuznecova Marija (Latvia)
Bronze: Chen Yining (China)
Open Under 14
Gold: Smirnov Mark (Kazahkstan)
Silver: Jiang Haochen (China)
Bronze: Lebedev Artem S (FIDE)
Girls Under 14
Gold: Smirnova Polina A (FIDE)
Silver: Olimova Rukiya (Uzbekistan)
Bronze: Mendoza Jemaicah Yap (Philippines)
Siddharth Jagadeesh (2467) – Macias Pino Diego (2501) 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Bb4 3. Nd5 a5 4. Nf3 d6 5. a3 Bc5 6. e3 Nd7 7. d4 Ba7 8. Be2 c6 9. Nc3 Ngf6 10. Qc2 O-O 11. O-O Re8 12. d5 cxd5 13. cxd5 Nc5 14. b4 axb4 15. axb4 Na6 16. b5 Nc5 17. Nd2 Bg4 18. Bxg4 Nxg4 19. h3 Nf6 20. Nc4 b6 21. e4 Qc7 22. Be3 Rac8 23. Rfc1 Bb8 24. f3 Nfd7 25. g4 Qb7 26. Na2 Bc7 27. Nb4 Ra8 28. Nc6 Rxa1 29. Rxa1 Ra8 30. Ra2 f6 31. Qb1 Kf7 32. Qa1 Rxa2 33. Qxa2 Ke8 34. h4 Nd3 35. g5 N7c5 36. gxf6 g6
37. f7+ 1-0
Pictures Courtesy: Vlera Zenjullahi & Dardan Bajrami / FIDE (International Chess Federation)
