31/08/2026
🇦🇺♟️ **HBCC JUNIORS SHINE ON THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE!** 🏆🌏
Hobsons Bay Chess Club is incredibly proud to celebrate two of our juniors, Nyra Venkat and Kaisar Batyrbekov, following their outstanding performances representing **Australia at the 24th ASEAN+ Age-Group Chess Championships in Singapore! 🇦🇺🇸🇬
The championships, held from **7–17 August 2026**, brought together some of the strongest young chess players from across the region, competing in Classical, Rapid and Blitz.
And our HBCC juniors came home with international medals! 🥉🥉🥉
🌟 **NYRA VENKAT – G08 CLASSICAL**
Nyra produced a fantastic performance in the **Girls Under 8 Classical Championship**, finishing in a **shared bronze-medal position**.
Competing internationally at such a young age is already an enormous achievement. To stand among the leading players in her age group at a major international championship is something Nyra, her family and our entire chess community can be extremely proud of.
Well done, Nyra! 💪♟️🇦🇺
🌟 **KAISAR BATYRBEKOV – AUSTRALIAN U10 TEAM**
Kaisar was part of an Australian Under-10 Boys contingent that produced a **historic performance for Australian junior chess**.
Australia won team bronze across:
🥉 **U10 Classical**
🥉 **U10 Rapid**
🥉 **U10 Blitz**
Even more impressively, Australia finished ahead of regional chess powerhouses India and China across all three formats.
Kaisar contributed to Australia's medal results in Classical and Rapid, becoming a **two-time ASEAN+ medallist**. 🥉🥉
The Australian U10 contingent included:
🇦🇺 Leo Kuncoro
🇦🇺 Harvey Kuncoro
🇦🇺 **Kaisar Batyrbekov**
🇦🇺 Aidan Batyrbekov
🇦🇺 Ethan Wu
🇦🇺 Andrew Ng
The Australian players showed remarkable consistency across nine rounds of Classical, seven rounds of Rapid and nine rounds of Blitz — three very different forms of chess requiring preparation, stamina, calculation and nerves under pressure.
🏆A HISTORIC RESULT FOR AUSTRALIA
The Singapore championships produced an outstanding overall result for Australia.
Alongside the junior achievements, Victorian **IM James Morris** shared **=2nd place in the Classical Premier competition** and won the **2nd-place trophy in Blitz**.
For Australian juniors to achieve team podium finishes across Classical, Rapid AND Blitz is a tremendous result and another sign of the growing strength of Australian junior chess.
But here at HBCC, this one is particularly special.
We have watched **Nyra and Kaisar develop through junior chess**, and now we get to celebrate them representing Australia and winning medals on the international stage. ❤️♟️
Results like these don't happen overnight. Behind every medal are countless games, training sessions, difficult losses, supportive parents, coaches and many hours spent learning and improving.
Nyra and Kaisar — everyone at Hobsons Bay Chess Club is very proud of you.**
Keep working, keep learning and keep enjoying your chess.
From **Altona to Singapore — and who knows where next!** 🌏✈️♟️
Congratulations to Nyra, Kaisar and the entire Australian contingent on a fantastic championship! 🇦🇺👏
