Fide Master Soumya Ranjan Mishra bagged the 56th title of his career by emerging champion in the 2nd Maa Samaleswari All-Odisha Open Chess Tournament, which was organised by East Coast Railway Sports Association at Railway Officers Club, Rail Nagar, Sambalpur from 5th to 7th April, 2019.

Bhubaneswar Postal employee Soumya scored eight points out of a possible nine with seven wins and two draws. Baivab Mishra of Puri also logged eight points but only to finish runner-up on the basis of Buchholz tie-break score. Nilsu Pattnayak of Cuttack finished third with 7.5 points.

Soumya received the top prize of Rs 15,000, while Baivab and Nilsu became richer by Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively. A total of 139 players participated in the nine-round tournament.

FINAL STANDINGS (Top 10): 1. Soumya Ranjan Mishra (Khurda, 8 pts), 2. Baivab Mishra (Puri, 8), 3. Nilsu Pattnayak (Ctc, 7.5), 4. Rajesh Nayak (Puri, 7), 5. Ansuman Samal (Ctc, 7), 6. Manas Parida (Kndp, 7), 7. Priyabrata Panda (Blgr, 7), 8. Sandeep Kumar Ganeriwal (Jsgd, 7), 9. Basant Kumar Das (Jajp, 6.5), 10. Lochan Kumar Das (Puri, 6.5).
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PHOTO: Top three prize winners with guests at the presentation ceremony in Sambalpur on 9th April, 2019.