Begmuratov and Roebers Win the World Junior Rapid Titles
By Cameron W. · Fri, 06 Nov 2026
Begmuratov wins the World Junior Rapid open title unbeaten, and top seed Eline Roebers takes the girls crown in Al Ain after strong finishes.
Sometimes the best finish in a Swiss tournament is the quiet one. At the World Junior Rapid Championship in Al Ain, the open and girls titles went to players who were not leading after six rounds but were ahead where it mattered. Khumoyun Begmuratov of Uzbekistan took the open section unbeaten, and the Netherlands' Eline Roebers, the top seed, won the girls title, according to FIDE's report published on November 6.
Begmuratov finishes unbeaten in the open
Begmuratov scored 7.5/9 with six wins and three draws. Pranav V. of India took silver and Raad Samadov of Azerbaijan bronze, both on 7/9, with tiebreaks separating them, FIDE reports. The report does not say which tiebreaks were used.
The final result was not how things looked halfway through. ChessBase India reported that Pranav led with a perfect 6/6 after six rounds, including a win over second seed Artem Uskov in round five, while Begmuratov was one of four players on 5/6. By simple subtraction, Pranav then took just one point from the last three rounds, while Begmuratov scored 2.5 of 3. The reports reviewed do not describe the games in rounds seven to nine. ChessBase India lists Begmuratov as a grandmaster rated 2433 going into the event. A year earlier, in Lima, another Uzbek player, Mukhammadzokhid Suyarov, won the open title with 7.5/9, according to FIDE.
Roebers comes through in the girls section
In the girls section, Roebers scored 7/9. Umida Omonova of Uzbekistan finished second and Marina Kuznetsova, playing under the FIDE flag, third, both on 6.5/9, with tiebreaks again deciding the order, according to FIDE. Roebers was top seed on 2366, according to Chess-Results.
She had the same sort of finish as Begmuratov. After six rounds ChessBase India had her on 4.5/6, a point behind Omonova and Valeria Kleymenova, who led on 5.5. By the same arithmetic, that means Roebers scored 2.5 of the last three games. Wikipedia lists her as an international master since 2022 and notes that her 2020 online World Youth Championship win in the under-14 girls category made her the first Dutch player to win a world youth title, though that page is not fully up to date.
The field and the format
The nine-round rapid ran from November 2 to 4 at the Danat Al Ain Resort, followed by the blitz on November 5 and 6, according to FIDE. The time control was 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move, according to ChessBase India and Chess-Results. FIDE says the event drew 185 players from 40 countries, competing for four world titles. ChessBase India counted 91 players in the open rapid and 42 in the girls event, so the totals appear to include both the rapid and blitz fields, though FIDE's report does not break the number down. Another FIDE page speaks of about 150 players.
The championship was organized by the Al Ain Chess and Mind Games Club with the UAE Chess Federation, under FIDE supervision. Sultan bin Saif Al Neyadi, the UAE's Minister of State for Youth Affairs, played the ceremonial first move, according to FIDE.
What comes next
The blitz titles were being decided on November 5 and 6, and the reports reviewed do not carry results. For Begmuratov and Roebers, the rapid gold is already a strong statement. Both did their best work in the last three rounds, which is when a rapid title is usually won.
Sources
- FIDE, "World Junior Rapid Championship 2026: Khumoyun Begmuratov and Eline Roebers capture titles" (Nov 6, 2026)
- FIDE, "Continental chess presidents inaugurate World Junior Rapid & Blitz Championships in Al Ain"
- ChessBase India, "World Junior Rapid 2026: V. Pranav makes it six out of six!"
- Chess-Results, "FIDE World Junior Rapid Chess Championships Girls U20"
- FIDE, "FIDE World Junior Rapid Championship 2025: Suyarov and Balabayeva capture titles"
- UzA, "Young Uzbek chess players among the leaders at the World Rapid and Blitz Championship"
- Wikipedia, "Eline Roebers"
