Cuttack boy Mohammad Ashraf and Kendrapara girl Smaraki Mohanty justified their top billings by winning titles in the Odisha State Junior (U-19) Chess Championship, which concluded at Vikash School in Sambalpur today. Ashraf, a student of KIIT University, beat Baivab Mishra in the seventh and last round to top the table with 6.5 points in the open category.
Pratik Ranjan Dehury (Sundargarh), Srinibas Mishra (Angul) and Ashirwad Swain (Nayagarh) finished second, third and fourth respectively.
In the girls` category, Smaraki defeated Pratyusha Panda in the sixth and final round to finish with full six points. The next three positions were occupied by Krushna Mishra (KIIT), Sweta Senapaty (Angul) and Gitashree Biswal (Cuttack) respectively.
The title winners received a cash prize of Rs 1,500 each. The top four finishers in each category qualified to represent Odisha in the Junior National Championship, scheduled to be held at Lucknow from July 10 to 18.
As many as 61 boys and 21 girls participated in the three-day championship, which was hosted by Koshal Chess Academy in association with Sambalpur District Chess Association.

FINAL STANDINGS (Top 10):
OPEN: 1. Mohammad Ashraf (6.5), 2. Pratik Ranjan Dehury (6), 3. Srinibas Mishra (5.5), 4. Ashirwad Swain (5.5), 5. Rajesh Nayak (5), 6. Baivab Mishra (5), 7. Susobhit Das (5), 8. Shrimay Dash (5), 9. Subham Mallick (5), 10. Auroshis Sudip Kumar Sahoo (5).
GIRLS: 1. Smaraki Mohanty (6), 2. Krushna Mishra (4.5), 3. Sweta Senapaty (4.5), 4. Gitashree Biswal (4), 5. Akankshya Mishra (4), 6. Pratyusha Panda (3.5), 7. Sagnika Pratihari (3.5), 8. Diya Das (3.5), 9. Priyanka Sahoo (3), 10. Pratistha Agrawal (3).