Anwesh regains State senior chess title

Bhubaneswar teenager Anwesh Upadhyaya regained the Orissa State senior chess crown after a gap of two years at Biju Patnaik Hockey Stadium in Rourkela today. In the 49th edition of the championship, he beat local boy Utkal Ranjan Sahoo in the 11th and final round to top the table with 10 points. Rourkela proved to be happy hunting ground for Anwesh, who had won his first senior state title at Ispat Stadium in the Steel City on April 26, 2007. Top seed Anwesh bagged the top prize of Rs 7,000. Second seed Swayams Mishra (Cuttack) finished runner-up with 8.5 points despite losing to former National ‘B’ champion Pabitra Mohan Mohanty in the last round. Rajendra Sahu and Rakesh Nayak (both Bhubaneswar) occupied the third and fourth positions respectively. The top four finishers qualified to represent the state in the National ‘B’ Championship to be held at Kolkata from August 11 to 24. Important results (11th round): Anwesh Upadhyaya (10) bt Utkal Ranjan Sahoo (8), Pabitra Mohan Mohanty (8.5) bt Swayams Mishra (8.5), Rajendra Sahu (8.5) drew with Aparajita Gochhikar (8), Rakesh Kumar Nayak (8.5) bt G C Mohapatra (7.5), Debasish Chakrabarty (8) bt Dasarathi Sahoo (7), Sudhir Behera (8) bt Rabindra Ojha (7), Biswajeet Nayak (8) bt Johnson Sahoo (7), Sumit Banerjee (8) bt K L Bhoi (7), Mohammad Ashraf (7.5) bt Rakesh Jena (7). Final standings (Top 10): 1. A Upadhyaya, 2. Swayams Mishra, 3. Rajendra Sahu, 4. Rakesh Nayak, 5. PM Mohanty, 6. Utkal Sahoo, 7. Aparajita Gochhikar, 8. Biswajeet Nayak, 9. D Chakraborty, 10. Sudhir Behera. PHOTO: Anwesh Upadhyaya takes the trophy after winning the State Senior Chess Championship in Rourkela on July 28, 2009.