Mitrabha Guha wins Commonwealth Crown

Indian Grandmaster Mitrabha Guha emerged as the Champion of the Commonwealth Chess Championship 2026 after drawing his final-round game against compatriot Rohith Krishna at Hotel Citrus, Kalutara, Sri Lanka on Monday.

Guha remained unbeaten throughout the tournament, scoring six victories and three draws to clinch the title with 7.5 points. Sri Lanka’s Ranindu Dilshan Liyanage finished as the first runner-up with 7 points, while India’s Srihari L R secured the second runner-up position with 6.5 points.

The Under-20 category, which was merged with the Open section, witnessed an impressive performance from Bangladesh’s Sakline Mostafa Sajid, who won the Gold medal. India’s Ethan Vaz secured the Silver medal with an identical score of 7 points.

In the other major categories, India’s Mary Ann Gomes captured the Women’s title, Singapore’s Sreekarthika Velmurugan won the Under-20 Girls Gold medal, while India’s Ebenezer Joseph emerged victorious in the Veteran category.

Among the Youth champions, Malaysia’s Siva Kumar Nirish Kumar won the Under-18 Open title, while India’s Saranya Devi Narahari secured Gold in the Under-18 Girls category. India’s Goutham Krishna H and Akshaya Sathi emerged victorious in the Under-16 Open and Girls categories respectively.

In the Under-14 section, India’s Shaunak Badole and Mysha Perwez won the Open and Girls titles respectively. Sri Lanka’s Kiringoda Thehas Rithmitha clinched the Under-12 Open Gold medal, while India’s Manya Abhishek Drolia secured the Under-12 Girls title.

India’s Tamizh Amudhan S and Nakshatra Gumudavelly won the Under-10 Open and Girls titles respectively. In the Under-8 category, Sri Lanka’s Wijesinghe Y M Dihela Thevin secured the Open title, while India’s Pritika Nandi won the Girls title.

In a colourful closing ceremony Hon'ble Arun Hemachandra, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment Government of Sri Lanka along with Mr. Bharat Singh Chauhan, Chairman Commonwealth Chess Association and Mr. Luxman Wijesuriya, General Secretary of Commonwealth Chess Association along with officials of Chess Federation of Sri Lanka gave away the trophies and medals to the winners.