The curtain falls in Serbia at the FIDE World Cadet and Youth Rapid & Blitz Championship
The FIDE World Cadet and Youth Rapid & Blitz Chess Championship concluded in Vrnjačka Banja, one of Serbia's prominent tourism centers. Over six days, 450 young players from 40 national federations competed for medals across six age categories, from Under 8 to Under 18, in both Open and Girls sections. The event closed with an 11-round blitz tournament played at the time control of 3 minutes plus a 2-second increment per move. This format highlighted not only opening preparation, but also decision-making under time pressure, tactical vision, and practical playing strength.
Russia topped the medal standings as the most successful nation. Russian players finished the event with a total of 15 medals: 7 gold, 3 silver, and 5 bronze. Kazakhstan followed with a strong showing of 4 gold, 3 silver, and 3 bronze. These results once again underlined how decisive long-term investment in youth development and systematic chess education at early ages can be on the international stage. While rapid and blitz formats naturally produce more mistakes than classical chess, they offer a valuable showcase for testing confidence, reflexes, calculation discipline, and practical resilience in young players.
One of the championship's most striking stories came in the Under 18 Open section. Just 11 years old, IM Roman Shogdzhiev outplayed older and more experienced opponents to take first place. His achievement was a vivid reminder that in modern youth chess, age difference alone is not decisive; preparation quality, tactical sharpness, and psychological toughness—especially in blitz—can directly shape the final outcome. Performances like this carry special weight for the chess world, as they show how early and on what stages future grandmasters can emerge.
The closing ceremony drew attention almost equal to the games themselves. Trophies, medals, diplomas, and prizes prepared by the Chess Federation of Serbia were presented to the winners, while speeches were delivered by Tournament Director Saša Jevtić, FIDE representative Özgür Solakoğlu, President of the Municipality of Vrnjačka Banja Boban Đurović, and President of the Chess Federation of Serbia Andrija Jorgić. Jevtić thanked the federation for entrusting him with such a major project, and also praised FIDE for its support during the preparation phase, as well as Chief Arbiter Nenad Dorić and the arbiters' team for their professionalism. Solakoğlu emphasized that the championship was about more than just sporting results: it also served as a gathering that strengthened friendship, cultural exchange, and the international spirit of chess among young players. In that sense, the event became an important stage not only for medal winners, but for the new generation of world chess as a whole.