The National Junior Girls (Under-19) Chess Championship is an annual national-level chess tournament for Indian female players under the age of 19. The championship is held in different cities across India and serves as one of the most important junior chess competitions in the country. As of 2025, a total of 39 editions of the tournament have been conducted.
The competition is open to players who are under 19 years of age and actively competing in professional chess. The championship provides a significant platform for emerging Indian chess players to gain competitive experience and advance toward the international level.
Murali Reddy Saritha won the inaugural edition in 1987. She achieved a rare distinction of becoming a national champion in the Sub-Junior, Junior, and Senior categories in 1987https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cocssJlrAIM. Soumya Swaminathan (chess player) holds the record for the most titles, having won the championship three times in 2005, 2006, and 2008. Shubhi Gupta is the reigning National Junior Girls Chess Champion, having also won the title in 2023. The winner of the tournament receives a cash prize of ₹1,00,000 from the event organizers.
Several former National Junior Girls Champions, including Nisha Mohota, Harika Dronavalli, Tania Sachdev, Padmini Rout, Bhakti Kulkarni, and Soumya Swaminathan (chess player), later went on to win the Indian Chess Championship, highlighting the tournament’s role in developing top-level players in Indian chess.
Winners & runner-up list
{| class="wikitable" ! Edition !! Year !! City !! Champion !! Runner-up |- | 1 || 1987 || || Murali Reddy Saritha || |- | 2 || 1988 || || || |- | 3 || 1989 || || || |- | 4 || 1989 || || || |- | 5 || 1990 || || || |- | 6 || 1991 || || || |- | 7 || 1992 || || || |- | 8 || 1993 || || || |- | 9 || 1994 || || || |- | 10 || 1995 || || || |- | 11 || 1996 || || || |- | 12 || 1997 || || || |- | 13 || 1998 || || || |- | 14 || 1999 || || Nisha Mohotahttps://sportstar.thehindu.com/magazine/the-best-news-i-have-ever-heard/article29640171.ece || Sangeetha M. R. |- | 15 || 2000 || || Nisha Mohotahttps://sportstar.thehindu.com/magazine/the-best-news-i-have-ever-heard/article29640171.ece || |- | 16 || 2001https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/harika-wins-national-jr-girls-chess-tourney/articleshow/270407065.cms || Chennai, Tamilnadu || Harika Dronavalli || |- | 17 || 2002https://ratings.fide.com/report.phtml?event=23198&t=0 || New Delhi || Harika Dronavalli || Saheli Nath |- | 18 || 2003https://ratings.fide.com/tournament_information.phtml?event=37065 || Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh || Prathiba Y Gounder || Raghavi N |- | 19 || 2004https://ratings.fide.com/report.phtml?event=27729 || Kozhikode, Kerala || Tania Sachdev || Kruttika Nadig |- | 20 || 2005https://www.chessbase.in/news/Sivakasi-Chess-Club-celebrates-50th-year-Triple-Tournament-Treat-for-the-Chess-Lovers#:~:text=GM%20Deep%20Sengupta%20and%20WGM,winner%20in%20the%20girls'%20section || Sivakasi, Tamilnadu || Soumya Swaminathan (chess player) || Mary Ann Gomes |- | 21 || 2006 || New Delhi || Soumya Swaminathan (chess player) || Kiran Manisha Mohanty |- | 22 || 2007|| Nagpur, Maharashtra || Bhakti Kulkarni || Kruttika Nadig |- | 23 || 2008|| West Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh || Soumya Swaminathan (chess player) || Padmini Rout |- | 24 || 2009|| Chennai, Tamil Nadu || Bhakti Kulkarni || Padmini Rout |- | 25 || 2010|| Puri, Odisha || Padmini Rout || Divyasri Ch |- | 26 || 2011https://ratings.fide.com/report.phtml?event=57008 || Goa || Pon Krithikha || Rucha Pujari |- | 27 || 2012https://ratings.fide.com/report.phtml?event=68509 || Ajmer, Rajasthan || Rucha Pujari || Saranya J |- | 28 || 2013https://ratings.fide.com/report.phtml?event=76936 || Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh || Ivana Maria Furtado || Rucha Pujari |- | 29 || 2014|| Pune, Maharashtra || Saranya J || Michelle Catherina P |- | 30 || 2015https://s3.chess-results.com/tnr182197.aspx || Dindigul, Tamil Nadu || Vaishali Rameshbabu || G. K. Monnisha |- | 31 || 2016|| Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh || Vaishali Rameshbabu || Bidhar Rutumbara |- | 32 || 2017https://s2.chess-results.com/tnr300542.aspx || Patna, Bihar || Mahalakshmi M || Chitlange Sakshi |- | 33 || 2018https://www.chessbase.in/news/Aradhya-Garg-and-Srishti-Pandey-are-the-new-National-Junior-champions || New Delhi || Chitlange Sakshi || Aakanksha Hagawane |- | 34 || 2019https://www.chessbase.in/news/Savitha-Shri-wins-AICF-National-Junior-Girls-Online-2021 || Gurgaon, Haryana || Srishti Pandey || Arpita Mukherjee |- | — || 2021https://www.chessbase.in/news/Savitha-Shri-wins-AICF-National-Junior-Girls-Online-2021 || Online format || Savitha Shri Baskar || Vantika Agrawal |- | 35 || 2022https://s3.chess-results.com/tnr617005.aspx || Gurgaon, Haryana || Nutakki Priyanka || Bhagyashree Patil |- | 36 || 2022https://s3.chess-results.com/tnr654313.aspx || Pune, Maharashtra || Rakshitta Ravi || Mounika Akshaya Bommini |- | 37 || 2023https://s2.chess-results.com/tnr819285.aspx || Ahmedabad, Gujarat || Shubhi Gupta || Dhanashree Khairmode |- | 38 || 2024https://s3.chess-results.com/tnr1008900.aspx || Karnal, Haryana || Mrittika Mallick || Sarayu Velpula |- | 39 || 2025https://s3.chess-results.com/tnr1311328.aspx || Jamshedpur, Jharkhand || Shubhi Gupta || Nivedita V C
References