Utkal Ranjan Sahoo regained the title in the Odisha State Senior Open Chess Championship, which was organised by Boudh District Chess Association (BDCA), under the auspices of All Odisha Chess Association (AOCA) at Town Hall in Boudh from May 16 to 20, 2016.

Rourkela youth, Utkal, who represented KIIT University in the five-day championship, scored 7.5 points out of possible nine to take home the top prize of Rs 5,000. This was the second State senior open title for Utkal, who had won his first one at Rourkela on April 20, 2011.

Altogether 85 players from 18 districts participated in this championship. Boudh Collector Madhusudan Mishra, SP B Gangadhar, Additional Collector Gangadhar Nayak and NAC chairperson Diptiprava Swain handed over prizes in the closing function.BDCA secretary Sankar Prasad Mishra and chief arbiter Gobinda Chandra Mohapatra were present on the occasion.

Bhadrak lad, Sidhant Mohapatra, who turned out for Indian Oil Corporation Limited, finished runner-up with seven points. He received a cash prize of Rs 4,000. FIDE Master Rakesh Kumar Jena (Jajpur) and Rajesh Nayak (Puri) occupied the third and fourth positions respectively. The top four finishers qualified to represent Odisha in the National Challenger Chess Championship, scheduled to be held in Uttar Pradesh from July 9 to 19, 2016.

FINAL PLACINGS (Top 10): 1. Utkal Ranjan Sahoo (KIIT, 7.5), 2. Sidhant Mohapatra (IOCL, 7), 3. FM Rakesh Ku Jena (Jajpur, 7), 4. Rajesh Nayak (Puri, 7), 5. Ashirwad Swain (Nayagarh, 6.5), 6. Baivab Mishra (Puri, 6.5), 7. Rabindra Kumar Ojha (Cuttack, 6.5), 8. Subhasis Barik (Kendrapara, 6), 9. Priyabrat Samant Singh (Khurda, 6), 10. Manoj Kumar Tripathy (Sambalpur, 6).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHOTO: Top-four finishers (L to R) Utkal Ranjan Sahoo, Sidhant Mohapatra, Rakesh Kumar Jena and Rajesh Nayak with guests in Boudh on May 20, 2016.