Mohanty wins Haldar memorial chess title

Former National `B’ champion and National `A` runner-up Pabitra Mohan Mohanty bagged the title in the 16th Makhanlal Haldar Memorial Chess Tournament, which concluded at Durgabari Samiti in Puri today. The Rourkela veteran got the better of Rajendra Kumar Sahu (Bhubaneswar) in the 10th and final round to walk away with the trophy, which carried a cash prize of Rs 7,000. Mohanty and Krishan Soni tied for the top spot with 8.5 points each. However, Mohanty eventually pipped Soni by virtue of better progressive score (51.5 against 48). Postal employee Soni contended himself with the second prize of Rs 5,000. Ovrenight sole leader Biswajeet Nayak, who squandered a golden chance to grab the title by losing to Soni in the last round, finish third. Puri District Athletic Association secretary Rabi Shankar Pratihari and host Puri District Chess Association president Kumar Haldar gave away the trophy and cash prizes at the closing function. Gopal Chandra Mohapatra and Aparajit Gochhikar were felicitated on the occasion as the oldest and most promising chess player respectively of Puri district. Important results (Round 10): Krishan Soni (8.5) bt Biswajeet Nayak (8), Pabitra Mohan Mohanty (8.5) bt Rajendra Sahu (7.5), Sudhir Behera (8) bt Guru Prasad Bhatta (7), Mohammad Ashraf (8) bt Manoj Panigrahi (6.5), Utkal Ranjan Sahoo (7.5) bt Mahesh Prasad Sethi (6.5), Rakesh Kumar Nayak (7) drew with Bira Kishore Behera (7), Govind Chandra Mohapatra (6.5) lost to Sumit Banerjee (7.5), Johnson Sahoo (7.5) bt Rabindra Ojha (6.5), Prasanta Bihari (7.5) bt Shyam Sundar Sharma (6.5), Sidhant Mohapatra (6) lost to Susanta Bhoi (7). Final standings (Top 10): 1. Pabitra Mohan Mohanty (8.5), 2. Krishan Soni (8.5), 3. Biswajeet Nayak (8), 4. Mohammad Ashraf (8), 5. Sudhir Behera (8), 6. Utkal Ranjan Sahoo (7.5), 7. Rajendra Kumar Sahu (7.5), 8. Sumit Kumar Banerjee (7.5), 9. Johnson Sahoo (7.5), 10. Prasanta Kumar Bihari (7.5). Special prizes: Best u-7 girl: Subhangi Priyadarsini (Cuttasck): Best u-7 boy: Pratistha Rout (Cuttack): Best u-9 girl: Saina Salonika (Bhubaneswar): Best u-9 boy: Chiranjeeb Routray (Bhubaneswar): Best u-11 girl: Subhashree Priyadarsini (Cuttack): Best u-11 boy: Mohit Sahoo (Bhubaneswar): Best u-13 girl: Shradhanjali Jena (Jajpur): Best u-13 boy: Rakesh Kumar Nayak (Bhubaneswar): Best u-15 girl: Pragnya Paramita Nayak (Bhubaneswar): Best u-15 boy: Sushanta Kumar Bhoi (Sambalpur). Captions: Top: Champion Pabitra Mohan Mohanty (centre), runner-up Krishan Soni (left) and third place finisher Biswajeet Nayak in Puri today. Bottom: Prize winners and guests at the closing function of the Makhanlal Haldar Memorial All-Orissa Chess Tournament in Puri today.