Vedant Shetty lands silver medal at Pan-American Youth Chess Championships

Ten-year-old Vedant Shetty, representing St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), captured the silver medal in the Under-10 Open (Classical) category at the XXXVI Pan American Youth Chess championship (Festival Panamericano de la Juventud), held from July 26 to August 2 at the Guillermo Gaviria Correa Coliseum in Medellín’s Atanasio Girardot Sports Complex. Shetty was the only Caribbean player to reach the podium at the championship.

Recognised as the premier youth chess championship in the Americas, the festival attracted more than 900 players from 30 countries, bringing together the continent’s strongest young talents.

Competing over nine demanding rounds of classical chess, Shetty scored an outstanding 7.5 out of 9 points, suffering only one loss and one draw throughout the tournament. Seeded eighth in a field of 93 players, he defeated strong opponents from the United States, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Ecuador, and Costa Rica on his way to the podium.

His impressive campaign concluded with a decisive final-round victory over higher-rated Alexander Joseph (USA), and securing second place behind champion Grayson Xiang (USA). Vedant’s tournament performance rating of 1930, more than 200 rating points above his official FIDE rating, is expected to earn him approximately 88 FIDE rating points.

Shetty continued his excellent form in the Rapid Championship, scoring seven out of nine points to tie for second place, finishing fourth overall after tie-breaks. During the event, he defeated the tournament’s top seed and eventual Rapid champion, Santiago Agudelo Ramírez (Colombia), one of the most notable victories of the tournament.

Remarkably, Shetty was the only player from the Caribbean to achieve a podium finish at this year’s Pan American Youth Chess Festival, marking a significant milestone for both Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Caribbean chess.

“Standing on the podium with my country’s flag was the best feeling ever. Every game was tough, but I focused on one move at a time. Next time, I’ll aim for the gold,” Shetty is quoted as saying.

The 36th Pan American Youth Chess championship, organised under the auspices of FIDE and the Chess Confederation of the Americas (CCA), is the continent’s premier annual youth chess championship, featuring Classical, Rapid, and Blitz events for players in the Under-8 to Under-18 age categories. The 2026 edition, dedicated to the memory of Weymar Muñoz, was one of the largest in the tournament’s history.

Shetty expressed his sincere gratitude to the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Chess Federation for its continued support. He also welcomes support from public and corporate sponsors to assist with participation in future international tournaments and to help expand youth chess initiatives being undertaken by the Federation, including community outreach programmes such as establishing chess clubs in schools.