Rakesh, Adyasha clinch titles

Rakesh Kumar Jena of Jajpur and Adyasha Patnaik of Cuttack won the boys` and girls` titles respectively in the State Under-9 Chess Championship, which concluded at the College of Engineering Bhubaneswar (CEB) today. In the seven-round boys’ event, Rakesh topped the table with 6.5 points, while Nishit Mohanty of Cuttack finished runner-up, securing six points. Adyasha clinched the girls’ title, garnering 4.5 points from five rounds. Her Cuttack citymate Akankshya Nayak became runner-up with a total of four points. The top two finishers in each category qualified to represent Orissa in the National under-9 chess championship to be held at Chennai from June 15 to 23. Host Khordha District Chess Association (KDCA) president Trailokya Jena gave away the trophies and cash prizes at the closing function. KDCA secretary Subhasish Patnaik, Puri District Chess Association vice-president Jhimili Patnaik and SR Chess Centre director Satya Ranjan Patnaik were present at the closing function. Final standings (Top 10): Boys: 1. Rakesh Kumar Jena (6.5), 2. Nishit Mohanty (6), 3. Mohammad Hussain (6), 4. Sankalp Baliarsingh (5.5), 5. Brajeswar Das (5.5), 6. Sourav Mohanty (5), 7. Ankit Tripathy (5), 8. Subhasis Barik (5), 9. Hara Prasad Chatterjee (5), 10. Rudrakshya Parida (5). Girls: 1. Adyasha Patnaik (4.5), 2. Akankshya Nayak (4), 3. Sovna Sonali Jena (4), 4. Sweta Senapati (4), 5. Rutumbara Bidhar (3.5), 6. Saina Salonika (3), 7. Adyasha Mohapatra (3), 8. Sudeepa Sahoo (3), 9. Sudhurti Padhiary (3), 10. Anisha Mishra (3).