Candidate Master (CM) Sachin Pitamber and Woman Candidate Master (WCM) Aditi Joshi made strong starts in the National Junior Championships Qualifiers 2026, moving to two points from two games after the opening day of action at Olympic House, Liliendaal yesterday.
The two 16-year-olds who are also the defending National Champions, were among the early leaders in Group A after winning their first two matches in the seven-round Swiss-System tournament, which runs from July 5 to 8. The event is being played under a standard time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment from move one, with John Lee serving as Chief Arbiter.
Pitamber opened his campaign with a win over Ethan Spencer in Round One before defeating Darrel Abrams in Round Two to remain perfect.
Joshi also began cleanly, beating Kaija Clement in the first round and Aiden Tinnie in the second round to join Pitamber on maximum points.
Pitamber and Joshi were joined at the top of Group A by Matthew Singh, Alek Ubaldo-Singh, Kataleya Sam, Nicholas Zhang and Abel Fernandez Ciria, who also moved to two points.
The third round is expected to bring a tougher test for both players. Pitamber is paired against Nicholas Zhang, while Joshi is set to face Ubaldo-Singh in one of the key early matchups.
In Group B, nine players also moved to two points after two rounds. Mark DeFreitas, Jeremiah Jacobs, Nikhail Raghubir, Pranav Suman, Axela Vieira, Shurlan Sparman, Sanjay Suman, Tremeur Alleyne and Maximus Bullen all made perfect starts.
The tournament is part of the national junior championship cycle, where Kyle Couchman is the defending national junior champion. The remaining rounds will determine which players stay in contention as the qualifiers continue today at the same venue.
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