Cuttack girl Palak Mohapatra and Jajpur boy Priansh Das won titles in open and girls categories of the Odisha State Under-9 Chess Championship, which was held at Synergy Institute of Engineering & Technology (SIET) in Dhenkanal from August 24 to 26, 2018.
Both Palak and Priansh scored 6.5 points each in the seven-round championship, which was organised by Dhenkanal District Chess Association (DDCA), under the aegis of All Odisha Chess Association (AOCA).
Arushi Srichandan (Khordha) and Sriansh Das, twin brother of Priansh, finished runner-up in girls and open categories respectively. Champion and runner-up in both the categories qualified to represent Odisha in the 32nd National U-9 Open & Girls Chess Championship, scheduled to be held at Ranchi, Jharkhand from September 15 to 23, 2018.
A total of 103 players, including 39 girls participated in the State Championship, which was inaugurated by SIET Principal Dr Itishree Mohanty. AOCA secretary Krushna Kumar Sarma, vice-president Ranjan Mohanty, treasurer G C Mohapatra handed over the prizes in the presence of DDCA acting president Biranchi Pani and secretary Debabrata Bhatta.
FINAL RANKINGS (Top 10):
OPEN: 1. Priansh Das (Jajpur, 6.5), 2. Sriansh Das (Jajpur, 6.5), 3. Sriyansh Dey (Cuttack, 6), 4. Hrishikesh Panda (Sundargarh, 5), 5. Aryan Mohapatra (Khorda, 5), 6. Pratyush Nayak (Cuttack, 5), 7. Tridev Tirthankar (Khorda, 5), 8. Jiban Jyoti (Kendrapara, 5), 9. Bikash Kumar Lenka (Khorda, 5), 10. Shiyam Satyansh (Khorda, 5).
GIRLS: 1. Palak Mohapatra (Cuttack, 6.5), 2. Arushi Srichandan (Khordha, 6), 3. Anishka Pandey (Khordha, 6), 4. Ankita Sahoo (Cuttack, 5.5), 5. Jayashree Barik (Khorda, 5), 6. Snehayukta Behera (Gajapati, 5), 7. Dristi Pradhan (Sundargarh, 4.5), 8. Jayalakshmi Sahoo (Cuttack, 4.5), 9. Rituparna Tripathy (Cuttack, 4.5), 10. Sai Samprada Mohanty (Cuttack, 4).
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PHOTO: Top two prize winners with guests and organizing officials in Dhenkanal on August 26, 2018.