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Odisha finished seventh in both open and women sections of the National Team Chess Championship, which was held at Dr Mahalingam College of Engineering & Technology in Pollachi, Tamil Nadu from 10 to 16 February 2023.
Airport Authority of India (AAI) bagged a double by winning both the open and women titles, while Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) finished first runners-up in both the categories.
Odisha men team, comprising IM Utkal Ranjan Sahoo, IM Sidhant Mohapatra, Rajesh Nayak, Nilsu Pattnayak and Tapan Badamundi garnered 11 points from nine rounds, winning five, losing three and drawing one.
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Odisha men beat Bihar B 3.5-0.5, Pondicherry 2.5-1.5, Telangana 4-0, Madhya Pradesh 4-0, LIC 2.5-1.5; lost to RSPB 0.5-3.5, AAI 1.5-2.5, PSPB 1.5-2.5 and drew with Kerala B 2-2.
Utkal was most successful Odisha player with 6.5 points. He won five games, lost one and drew three. Utkal was followed by Rajesh (5), Sidhant (4.5), Nilsu (3.5) and Tapan (2.5). AAI won the title with 15, while PSPB settled as first runners-up also with 15 points.
Odisha women team, featuring Smaraki Mohanty, Aparajita Gochhikar, Adyasha Pattnaik and Akankhya Kabi garnered seven points from seven rounds, winning three, losing three and drawing one. Aparajita was top scorer with four points, while Smaraki and Akankhya scored 3.5 points each. Adyasha garnered two points.
Odisha women beat Himachal A 3.5-0.5, Himachal Women B 3.5-0.5 and Himachal Women C 4-0. They lost to AAI and Tamil Nadu B by 0-4 identical margin and drew with Andhra Pradesh 2-2.
AAI women team, consisting of WGM Vantika Agrawal, WGM Divya Deshmukh, WIM Arpita Mukherjee and WIM K Priyanka, emerged champions with 13 points, while PSPB finished first runners-up with 13 points.
Odisha IM Padmini Rout was part of the PSPB team, which also featured IM Eesha Karavade, IM Soumya Swaminathan, WGM Mary Ann Gomes and WIM Isha Sharma. Padmini won five games out of six and lost one.
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PICS: Odisha men and women teams pose at the prize distribution ceremony at the National Team Chess Championship in Pollachi on 16 February 2022.
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