Divi Bijesh, Sarbartho Mani, Saiaastha Singh and Sattwik Swain, Shines at FIDE World Cup Cadets 2026
Four talented Indian youngsters excelled at the FIDE World Cup Cadets 2026, securing four medals for the country. Divi Bijesh clinched back-to-back gold medals in consecutive editions. She scored 9/11 points to win the gold medal in Under-12 Girls. In the Under-10 Open, two Indian players secured podium finishes. Sarbartho Mani and Sattwin Swain scored 8.5/11 to finish in 2nd and 3rd place, respectively. In the Under-8 Girls, Saiaastha Singh secured the Bronze Medal after scoring 8.5/11 points. Photos: IM Abhishek Kelkar
Consecutive Medals for Sarbartho Mani and Divi Bijesh
In the 2025 FIDE World Cup Cadets, Sarbartho Mani clinched the Gold medal in Under-10 Open, and this year, he scored 8.5/11 to secure the Silver medal. Divi showed a great performance and scored 9/11 to clinch the Gold. Last year, she won Gold in the Under-10 Girls.
Under 12 Girls: Divi Bijesh (Gold)
Divi Bijesh suffered a tough loss in the 3rd round of the tournament against Zixin Huang, but she recovered from that defeat in style and scored 5 back-to-back wins, followed by 2 points in the last 3 rounds, helping her win the tournament with a half-point lead.
1st place – Divi Bijesh (IND)
2nd place – Yunker Alisa Genrietta (FID)
3rd place – Filippova Milana (KAZ)
Final Ranking after 11 Rounds
Rk. | SNo |
| Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | TB6 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 | WCM | 1942 | 9 | 0 | 72 | 76,5 | 61,75 | 8 | 1888 | |||
2 | 2 | WFM | 2056 | 8,5 | 0 | 70 | 73 | 54 | 7 | 1823 | |||
3 | 7 | WCM | 1942 | 8,5 | 0 | 69 | 73 | 53,75 | 7 | 1860 | |||
4 | 4 | WCM | 2000 | 8 | 0 | 74 | 79 | 55,75 | 7 | 1854 | |||
5 | 1 | WCM | 2068 | 8 | 0 | 72 | 75,5 | 52 | 7 | 1850 |
Under-10 Open
Under-10 Open category gave India 2 medals as Sarbartho Mani and Sattwik Swain both scored 8.5/11 points to secure 2nd and 3rd place according to tiebreak scores. Ulan Rizat of Kazakhstan secured the 1st place with 9/11 points.
1st place – Ulan Rizat (KAZ)
2nd place – Mani Sarbartho (IND)
3rd place – Sattwik Swain (IND)
Final Ranking after 11 Rounds
Rk. | SNo |
| Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | TB6 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 | CM | 2050 | 9 | 0 | 74 | 79 | 62,5 | 8 | 1887 | |||
2 | 1 | FM | 2311 | 8,5 | 0 | 75,5 | 81,5 | 61,5 | 7 | 1879 | |||
3 | 5 | CM | 2054 | 8,5 | 0 | 75 | 79,5 | 58,75 | 7 | 1855 | |||
4 | 20 | CM | 1904 | 8,5 | 0 | 67 | 72,5 | 53,5 | 7 | 1791 | |||
5 | 40 | 1830 | 8,5 | 0 | 65,5 | 69,5 | 52 | 8 | 1859 |
Under-8 Girls
Saiaastha Singh delivered a brilliant performance to score 8.5/11 points to clinch a Bronze medal in Under-8 Girls. Saiaastha lost only 1 game, and it was against the champion of this group, Yunzin Sun.
1st place – Sun Yunjin (CHN)
2nd place – Ye Xinhe (CHN)
3rd place – Saiaastha Singh (IND)
Final Ranking after 11 Rounds
Rk. | SNo |
| Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | TB6 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 87 | 0 | 9,5 | 0 | 73 | 76,5 | 65 | 9 | 1477 | ||||
2 | 92 | 0 | 8,5 | 0 | 77 | 81,5 | 61,25 | 8 | 1480 | ||||
3 | 17 | 1473 | 8,5 | 0 | 72,5 | 77 | 56 | 7 | 1465 | ||||
4 | 18 | 1458 | 8 | 0 | 76 | 80,5 | 55,5 | 8 | 1495 | ||||
5 | 3 | 1616 | 8 | 0 | 72 | 77,5 | 52,5 | 8 | 1437 |
Important Links