School student from Verkhnyaya Salda has won the Asian Youth Chess Championship

SVERDLOVSK REGION

 

Aleksey Prokhorov, a FIDE Master and member of the Debut chess club of the VSMPO‑AVISMA Corporation from Verkhnyaya Salda, has taken first place at the 20th Asian Schools Chess Championship. The tournament was held in the Tula Region from October 1 to 8 and brought together about 320 young chess players from 12 countries.

 

Prokhorov won 5 games, beating chess players from Iran, Sri Lanka, and Russia, and drew with 4 opponents from Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. The athlete from the Sverdlovsk Region was the only player in his age group to finish the tournament without a single loss.

Aleksey Prokhorov is representing the Russian national team, and he is no stranger to international success: He won gold at the Asian Youth Chess Championship in the UAE in 2023; in 2026, he made the list of the continent's top young chess players at a tournament in China, and took the fourth place at the World Youth Chess Championship in Italy.

 

In total, athletes from the Debut chess club won five medals at the Asian Youth Championship. FIDE Master Aleksey Prokhorov also won a silver medal in rapid, Ivan Prokhorov took second place in blitz, and bronze medals in the same event went to Aleksey Prokhorov and Candidate Master of Sports Maria Kleshcheva. 

For the chess players of the Debut club, the tournament in the Tula Region has become another step in their international competitive experience. The systematic development of young athletes is supported by the Empathy Charitable Foundation established by Mikhail Shelkov, shareholder of the VSMPO‑AVISMA Corporation. The organization helps them take part in international competitions and provides for their steady training throughout the entire sports season.

 

According to Shelkov, chess develops analytical thinking and creative energy in children. Aleksey Prokhorov, a member of the corporate chess club, demonstrates a masterful combination of these skills in every game he plays. 

 

"His ambitious strategy and his drive to take on the strongest, most titled players earn respect, and his results are impressive even to experienced athletes," notes the founder of the Empathy Charitable Foundation.

 

On top of that, Maria Kleshcheva, Mark Medvedev, and the Prokhorov brothers get monthly scholarships from the Foundation. This kind of support allows the young players to focus on training, accumulate international experience, and steadily move toward new athletic results.