The 10th Eastern Asia Youth Chess Championships 2026 has officially begun in Hainan, China, bringing together 278 young players for one of the region’s major youth chess events.
The championship is being held from 20 to 30 August 2026, organized by the Chinese Chess Association under the auspices of the Asian Chess Federation (ACF) and the International Chess Federation (FIDE). Players from chess federations in Zones 3.3 and 3.5 are eligible to participate.
The young players compete in 12 age categories, with separate Open and Girls sections in Under-8, Under-10, Under-12, Under-14, Under-16 and Under-18.
According to the starting list, the championship has attracted players from 14 federations: Brunei Darussalam, China, Hong Kong China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Chinese Taipei and Vietnam.
The championship programme features Rapid, Standard and Blitz competitions, giving the young participants the opportunity to compete across all three formats.
The Rapid competition, taking place on 21 August, consists of seven rounds, while both the Standard and Blitz competitions are played over nine rounds. The Rapid time control is 15 minutes plus a 5-second increment per move, Standard is 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move from move one, and Blitz is 5 minutes plus a 3-second increment per move.
Following the opening ceremony on 21 August, all seven rounds of the Rapid competition are scheduled for the same day, followed by its awards ceremony. The nine-round Standard competition begins on 22 August and concludes on 29 August, when the nine rounds of Blitz and the closing ceremony will also take place.
The championship is being hosted at the New Century Resort Chess Bay, Hainan, with the Ballroom of the resort serving as the playing venue.
The starting list features a number of highly rated young players. Mongolia’s Naranbold Sodbilegt (2382) heads the overall starting list in the Open Under-18 category, followed by China’s Shen Fuyan (2326) in Open Under-16 and the Philippines’ Ivan Travis Cu (2321) in Open Under-18.
Other leading participants include Hong Mingren of China (2318), Phil Martin Casiguran of the Philippines (2317), Yu Zechen of China (2273), Ganbat Tenguundalai of Mongolia (2233), Tran Ngoc Minh Duy of Vietnam (2224), Jamison Edrich Kao of Hong Kong China (2224) and Genivan Genkeswaran of Malaysia (2209).
A wide range of individual and team awards will be presented during the championship. The champion in each category of Standard, Rapid and Blitz will receive a trophy, medal and certificate, while players finishing from second to tenth place in each category will receive medals and certificates.
There is also a federation and team component to the awards. The three best federations, determined by the ranking of medals collected across all groups in Standard Chess, will receive trophies. In addition, team medals will be awarded in each category based on the combined score of the top three players from a federation. Federations with fewer than three players in a category are not eligible for a team award.
The Standard competition also offers opportunities for direct titles, which will be awarded in accordance with the FIDE regulations specified for the championship.
With 278 participants competing across six age divisions and three different formats, the 10th Eastern Asia Youth Chess Championships promises ten days of exciting competition as some of the region’s most promising young players battle for individual, team and federation honours in Hainan.
The championship concludes on 29 August with the Blitz competition and closing ceremony, followed by the departure of participants on 30 August.
Check the official website: eaycc2026.chesstournament.org