Rajesh Nayak captured the title in the Odisha State Senior Chess Championship-2017, which was organised by Khordha District Chess Association (KDCA), under aegis of All Odisha Chess Association (AOCA) here at Saraswati Sisu Bidya Mandir, Unit-8 from June 13 to 17.

Puri lad Rajesh scored 7.5 points out of possible nine to take home the top prize of Rs 7,500. In fact, four players tied for the top spot with 7.5 points each. But on the the basis of Buchholtz tie-break method, Baivab Mishra, Rakesh Kumar Nayak and Nayak Biswajit finished second, third and fourth respectively.

A total of 168 players participated in the four-day tournament, which carried a total prize fund of Rs 30,000. The top four finishers qualified to represent Odisha in the 55th National Challenger Chess Championship-2017, which would be held at Ahmedabad, Gujrat from August 12 to 23.

State Additional Chief Secretary GV Venugopala Sarma graced the closing ceremony as chief guest and handed over the trophies and cash prizes. KDCA secretary Subhasis Patnaik and Saraswati Sisu Bidya Mandir Pradhan Acharya Ranjan Parida were present on the occasion.

FINAL PLACINGS (Top 10): 1. Rajesh Nayak (Puri, 7.5), 2. Baivab Mishra (Puri, 7.5), 3. Rakesh Kumar Nayak (Khordha, 7.5), 4.    Nayak Biswajit (Khordha, 7.5), 5. Sambit Panda (Khordha, 7), 6.Manish Kumar (Khordha, 7), 7.    Rudranarayan (Puri, 7), 8. Ansuman Samal (Cuttack, 6.5), 9. Nilsu Pattnayak (Cuttack, 6.5), 10. Dasharathi Sahoo (Khordha, 6.5).
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PHOTO: Top four prize winners with guests and officials in Bhubaneswar on June 17, 2017.