Odisha duo Yashita Rout and Priansh Das bagged silver medals by finishing runner-up in the 29th National Under-7 Chess Championship, which concluded at J N Stadium in Chennai today. Bhubaneswar-based Yashita and KGR Anagha of Karnataka tied for the top spot in girls` category, garnering nine points each out of a possible 11. But Anagha eventually took the title, piping Yashita on Buchholz tie-break method.

According to international arbiter Suresh Chandra Sahoo, six-year-old Yashita won eight games, drew two and lost one to Vaishnavi Prakash of Uttar Pradesh in the second round. However, she had the credit of beating champion Anagha in the penultimate round. Surprisingly, State champion Anjali Mishra did not participate in the National championship.

Cuttack boy Priansh captured the silver in the open category, scoring nine points. After winning eight games and drawing two in the 11-round competition, state champion Priansh suffered a setback as he lost to Nanal Arnav of Maharashtra in the final round.

Ms Midilesh of Tamil Nadu won the title, logging 10 points, while Ayush J Yajaman (Kerala) occupied the third position with nine points. Priansh` twin brother Sriansh finished a creditable 11th with eight points. As many as 152 in open category and 93 in girls` section in the nine-day championship, which was organised by King Chess Foundation.

All Odisha Chess Association secretary Vivek Tibarewal congratulated the two silver medallists and wished them more success in the future. ``After a lull, youngsters have made Odisha proud by their impressive performance in the U-7 National championships. It would have been a golden double if Yashita and Priansh had stayed unbeaten till the end,`` said Tibarewal.

ODISHA STANDINGS:
OPEN: Priansh Das (2nd, 9pts), Sriansh Das (11th, 8pts), Rajveer B Pal (14th, 7.5pts), Koustuv Das (18th, 7.5pts), Annirudha Sahoo (23rd, 7pts), Abhinav Pal (63rd, 6pts), Durgesh Mohanty (88th, 5pts), Soyam Laxmidatt D Sabat (105th, 4.5pts).
GIRLS: Yashita Rout (2nd, 9pts), Sradha Suman Jena (26th, 6.5pts), Dibyashrita Swain (29th, 6.5pts), Amrusha Mohanty (57th, 5pts), Aria Routray (67th, 4.5pts).
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PHOTO: Odisha duo Yashita Rout (L) and Priansh Das with their medals in Chennai on August 25, 2015