Joshua Benjamin Burns delivered the strongest result among Macedonia’s representatives at the 2026 World Rapid Chess Championship, held in Vrnjačka Banja, Serbia, across 11 rounds in the under-8, under-10, under-12, under-14, under-16 and under-18 age categories for boys and girls.
Competing in the under-10 section, Burns entered the tournament rated 1,527 and seeded 58th among 76 players. He went on to finish in an impressive 23rd place with 6.5 points, recording five wins, three draws and three losses. His performance also brought a major rating boost, as he gained 129.6 new rating points.
Also in the under-10 category, Sergej Stanković, rated 1,851 and seeded 75th, finished 67th with four points.
In the under-12 division, Jovan Vukašinović, rated 1,851 and seeded 39th, placed 51st out of 62 players with four points.
In the under-18 section, Makl Burns, rated 2,074 and seeded 25th, finished 29th among 35 players with 4.5 points.
Among the girls, Ilijana Veleva competed in the under-14 category and placed 24th out of 30 players with four points. In the same group, Kajla Burns also scored four points and finished 28th. In the under-16 section, Elisaveta Burns ended 26th out of 27 participants with 2.5 points.
Overall, Macedonia’s seven representatives collected a combined 29.5 points out of a possible 77, which amounts to 38.3 percent.
The 2026 World Rapid Chess Championship, played with a time control of 15 minutes plus five seconds increment per move, brought together 437 players from 40 countries. The field included numerous titled players and was led in numbers by Russia with 97 participants, followed by Serbia with 87 and Kazakhstan with 53.
Kazakhstan finished as the most successful nation at the tournament with 11 medals, including five gold, four silver and two bronze. Russia followed with 10 medals, while Belarus secured four.
