Players suffer in state youth chess championship

Playing conditions drew flak as Biswajit Nayak took the sole lead with six points after the completion of sixth round of the State Youth (under-25) Chess Championship at Secretariat Recreation Club in Bhubaneswar today. Local boy Nayak caused an upset by defeating reigning Asia under-12 girls’ champion Padmini Rout in the sixth round. Five players — Debasis Das, Subhranshu Satpathy, Aparajita Gochhikar, BGP Mohapatra and Arghya Arpan Parida — shared the second place with five points apiece. Over sixty players participated in the eight-round championship, which commenced three days ago. According to host Orissa State Chess Association officials, top two finishers of the ongoing meet will be eligible to represent Orissa in the National under-25 championship to be held at Ahmedabad in the first week of July. Meanwhile, scorching heat and unsuitable conditions caused a lot of inconvenience to the players in the State meet. Cramped in a asbestos-roofed house, the players, comprising many children, found it extreemely difficult to concentrate on their games. Most of them were found busy in wiping sweat and drinking water or softdrinks. Worse, two of the four ceiling fans did not work. ‘‘It was inhuman on the part of the State association to have asked the youngsters to play three rounds in a day in a hot chamber,’’ lamented a parent. ‘‘The heat was unbearable. I could not play my normal game due to the hazardous conditions,’’ complained a competitor without identifying himself. When contacted, OSCA president A B Mohanty expressed his helplessness, saying ‘‘We can not do anything about the problem.’’ Important results (6th round): Padmini Rout (4.5) lost to Biswajit Nayak (6), Debasis Das (5) beat Susant Bhoi (4), Sasmita Bhoi (4) lost to Subhranshu Mohan Satpathy (5), Aparajita Gochhikar (5) beat Santosh Das (4), Prasant Jena (4) lost to BGP Mohapatra (5), Sanjay Mishra (3.5) lost to Arghya Arpan Parida (5).