22-Mar-2009 249
The newly appointed ad hoc committee kick-started its action plan with a grand felicitation function, which warmed the heart of the Orissa chess fraternity with pride joy at the pool complex of a star hotel in Bhubaneswar on Sunday afternoon.
On the occasion, 15 outstanding players of past and present, along with nine organisations were honoured for their achievement in and contribution to the 64-square game.
The glittering function helped chess overshadow cricket, the king of sports in the country, even if for a day. The venue, the glamour, the hospitality and the crowd pointed to professional planning and execution in the area of sports.
Appointed by the All India Chess Federation (AICF), in place of the expelled Orissa State Chess Association (OSCA), the five-member ad hoc committee did the planning, while the execution part was handled by Star Consultancy Services (SSC), which made its presence felt as a front-line sponsors for sports in the state.
‘‘We will also sponsor the first-ever Fide Rating Tournament to be staged in the state in June,’’ announced SSC Director Triveni Kumar Mohanty.
AICF secretary DV Sundar, vice-president RM Dongre and treasurer BS Chauhan were present at the function as prominent guests.
Amidst the celebration, ad hoc committee members assured that bringing the elected state body back to power would be one of their major goals.
HONOURED PLAYERS:
JM Joardar: Founder of Ruy Lopez Club in 1942, Joardar is regarded as the living legend of chess in Orissa. On the 94-year-old doyen, his son received the memento.
KD Pillai: Eleven times state champion, Pillai is still playing at the age of 73. He is a contemporary of Manual Aaron.
BN Acharya: Known as ‘gentleman of Orissa chess’, an 84-year-old Acharya gracefully walked up to the podium to receive his recognition and honour.
PM Mohanty: Two times National ‘B’ and 12 times State champion, Pabitra Mohan Mohanty is the only player from the state holding the rare distinction of holding Viswanathan Anand to a draw twice. One of the finest end-game specialists in the country, Mohanty has groomed Utkal Ranjan Sahu into an international madallist at the age of nine.
Swayangsu Satyapragyan: The biggest Grandmaster prospect of the state having one GM norm to his credit. Hen has as maintained an Elo rating of over 2,400 for nine years so far.
Sekhar Chandra Sahu: Former National ‘B’ champion and at present a leading coach of the country, he played instrumental role in producing many GMs and IMs.
Kiran Manisha Mohanty: Former National u-12 girls’ classical, u-14 rapid, u-18 and Asian u-17 champion, Woman International Master Kiran has already acquired a WGM norm.
Padmini Rout: Former Asian and World u-14 girls’ champion and two-time winner of Asian u-12 title, Padmini is regarded as the best ever chess talent of the state.
Debashis Das: World u-16 boys’ medallist, Das is an IM prospect with two norms already in his pocket.
Utkal Ranjan Sahoo: Asia age-group champion and world age-group medallist.
Swayams Mishra: A member of the Commonwealth gold-medal winning team of the country, Mishra is an IM prospect.
Soumya Ranjan Mishra: An IM prospect, who has the credit of beating a host of Grand Masters.
Anwesh Upadhyaya: The most calm and cool player of the state, Anwesh has already become state champion while in school.
Siddhant Mohapatra: Won bronze medal in World u-10 meet. Comes from a rural background but aims high.
Sunyasikta Satpathy: World age-group medal winner. Sacrifices school studies to excel in chess.
HONOURED ORGANISATIONS:
Puri District Chess Association: One of the oldest district body, PDCA hosted an age-group National championship in 2007. Under the leadership of leading hotel owner Kumar Haldar, PDCA has been conducting state and district level tournaments regularly.
Cuttack District Chess Association: Established in 1978-79, CDCA has been pioneering the organizational activities in Orissa. It has in its family two chess nurseries namely Barabati Chess Academy and SR Chess Centre.
Bhubaneswar Chess Association: The richest and most active district unit of OSCA, BCA hosts most of the state selection tournaments at the Secretariat Recreation Club. Most of the leading players of the state belong to the Bhubaneswar district.
Ganjam District Chess Association: International Master Sekhar Chandra Sahu is the pride of this district body.
Sambalpur District Chess Association: It has played instrumental role in promoting chess in western Orissa. Conducts tournaments regularly.
Kalinga Chess Academy: Conducting Kalinga Open state level tournament for more than a decade. The first chess magazine was published by this academy.
Rourkela Steel Plant: The only chess promoting PSU in the state, RSP has been running a chess academy of its own. It has also provided employment to many chess players, including PM Mohanty.
SR Chess Centre: The first professional chess coaching centre of the state, SRCC has produced many national and international medalists by providing round-the-year coaching facility.
Barabati Chess Academy: Conducts tournaments with lot of enthusiasm.
