Pratyush Nayak and Shradha Smaranika Nanda clinched a double crown for Cutttack by winning open and girls titles respectively in the Odisha State Under-9 Chess Championship, which was held at East Coast Railway Institute, Cuttack from 12 to 14 July, 2019.

Puri boy Ayushman Mohanty and Khurda girl Jayashree Barik finished runner-up in open and girls categories respectively. Top two finishers from each category qualified to represent Odisha in the National Under-9 Chess Championship, scheduled to be held at Ahmedabad from 3 to 11 August, 2019.

Olywood actress Meghna Mishra graced the closing ceremony as chief guest and handed over the trophies to the title winners. Host Cuttack District Chess Association President Vivek Kumar Tibarewal, senior vice-president S K Prusty, All Odisha Chess Association Secretary Debabrata Bhatta and East Coast Railway Institute Sk Rahamatullah, were present on the occasion.

The tournament was conducted by chief arbiter Nihar Ranjan Sasmal and deputy chief arbiter Tapas Kumar Mohanty. A total of 120 players from 10 districts participated in the three-day tournament. There were 37 girls in the fray.

FINAL PLACINGS (Top 10):

OPEN CATEGORY: 1. Pratyush Nayak (Cuttack, 6.5), 2. Ayushman Mohanty (Puri, 6), 3. Shriyansh Dey (Cuttack, 6), 4. Jiban Jyoti (Kendrapara, 6), 5. Biswa Preet Ray (Cuttack, 5.5), 6. Shreyansh Hota (Bolangir, 5), 7. Swastik Suvam Patnaik (Cuttack, 5), 8. Ayush Aryan Mohapatra (Kendrapara, 5), 9. Siddhartha Mishra (Khurda, 5), 10. Pritpal Sarangi (Khurda, 5).

GIRLS CATEGORY: 1. Shradha Smaranika Nanda (Cuttack, 6), 2. Jayashree Barik (Khurda, 6), 3. Sai Samprada Mohanty (Cuttack, 5), 4. Sandeepa Priyadarshini Sahoo (Cuttack, 5), 5. Anshita Pattnaik (Cuttack, 5), 6. Jyotika Sahoo (Cuttack, 5), 7. Sradha Mishra (Khurda, 5), 8. Pratyasha Jena (Cuttack, 5), 9. Shruti Snehi (Cuttack, 4.5), 10. Saisha Swain (Cuttack, 4.5).
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PHOTO: Top two finishers (L to R) Ayushman Mohanty, Pratyush Nayak, Shradha Smaranika Nanda and Jayashree Barik with guests and organising officials at the closing ceremony in Cuttack on 14 July, 2019.