Asians Shine in FIDE World Cadets & Youth Rapid & Blitz Chess Championship

The final moves have been made, bringing the FIDE World Cadets & Youth Rapid & Blitz Chess Championship 2025 in Rhodes, Greece, to a close. More than 430 boys and girls from 48 countries competed across Open and Girls categories in the U18, U16, U14, U12, U10, and U8 age groups, in both rapid and blitz formats.

After five intense days and a total of 22 rounds—11 each in rapid and blitz—the winners emerged in all 24 tournaments. Medals were awarded to some of the most talented young players in the world.

The closing ceremony, held at the Palace Hotel Rhodes, was attended by distinguished guests including Akis Delaportas, Vice Governor of the South Aegean Region; Ozgur Solakoglu, FIDE Technical Delegate; Maria-Anna Stefanini, member of the Greek Chess Federation; and Stamos Karabas, President of the Ippotis Chess Club, along with over 400 participants and their parents.

Ksenia Norman (pictured above), the winner of both Rapid and Blitz Under 18 Girls category, shared: “The tournament is at the highest level. The hotel is nice, the judges are professional. Very high result for me, I am very proud of it.  I always expect the best from myself and I strive for it… For my next tournaments, I have India Open and Uzbekistan Open… My next goal is to achieve the WIM title. My main goal is to reach 2200 – 2300, and never forget to enjoy the game.”

Ergali Suleimen (pictured below), the winner of both Rapid and Blitz Under 18 Open said: “The tournament was great, organization was excellent, and a little break between rounds was great. The emotions are high-sky. The next tournament for me is the Final of Kazakhstan Championship, I will try to continue my great performance. I am now a Fide Master, so my next goal is to try to achieve IM.”

Arya Aydogan, the winner of the Blitz Under 14 Girls added: “I would like to thank the organizers for a great tournament. I started the tournament with a loss, but then I pulled myself together and came out on top. My next goal is to achieve the Women’s FIDE Master title and work toward higher titles step by step. When I play chess I am really happy – if you want to play chess, enjoy it and go for success.”

Final standings Blitz

Under 8 Open:

  1. Netrebka, Myron (UKR)
  2. Yunker, German (FIDE)
  3. Jevglevski, Lev (EST)

 Under 8 Girls:

  1. Bissaliyeva, Alisha (KAZ)
  2. Trzcinska, Wiktoria (POL)
  3. Volkova, Varvara (FID)

Under 10 Open:

  1. Anetov, Amirzhan (KAZ)
  2. Hoang, Tan Vinh (VIE)
  3. Nguyen, Xuan Phuong (VIE)

Under 10 Girls:

  1. AFM Tran, Hoang Bao An (VIE)
  2. WCM Divi, Bijesh (IND)
  3. Kiyanna, Parihaar (IND)

Under 12 Open:

  1. CM Guo, Ethan (USA)
  2. Sason, Noam (ISR)
  3. Nurakyn, Suleiman (KAZ)

Under 12 Girls:

  1. WCM Yunker, Alisa Genrietta (FIDE)
  2. Gruszecka, Alicja (POL)
  3. WCM Sholpanbek, Zhansaya (KAZ)

Under 14 Open:

  1. IM Dau, Khuong Duy (VIE)
  2. CM Duong, Vu Anh (VIE)
  3. Singh, Siddharth (USA)

Under 14 Girls:

  1. WCM Aydogan, Arya (TUR)
  2. Tong, Thai Hoang An (VIE)
  3. WCM Ejsymont, Blanka (POL)

Under 16 Open:

  1. IM Uskov, Artem (FIDE)
  2. Skembris, Simon Max (GER)
  3. Rumyantsev, Semen (FIDE)

Under 16 Girls:

  1. WFM Kaliakhmet, Elnaz (KAZ)
  2. FM Lyutsinger, Iren (FIDE)
  3. WFM Khafizova, Diana (FIDE)

Under 18 Open:

  1. FM Suleimen, Ergali (KAZ)
  2. FM Khripachenko, Alexander (FIDE)
  3. FM Sapenov, Daniyal (KAZ)

Under 18 Girls:

  1. WFM Norman, Kseniya (FIDE)
  2. WIM Karmanova, Olga (FIDE)
  3. Nguyen, Binh Vy (VIE)

Complete results:  Chess-Results.com

Photos: Ippotis Chess Club Rhodes

Official website: wcyrb2025.com/

From Winners crowned at FIDE World Cadets & Youth Rapid & Blitz Chess Championship 2025 in Rhodes, Greece – International Chess Federation