Debashis, Sidhant deliver expected results

IM elect Debashis Das and Sidhant Mohapatra lived up to their reputation as leading junior chess players of Orissa in the Asian Youth Chess Championship, which commenced at New Delhi on Monday. In under-18 boys section, third seed Debashis registered his second successive win, beating J Arun (India) and Ton That Nhu Tung (Vietnam). Among other three Orissa youngsters in the fray, Sidhant Mohapatra started with win over Zhakshylyk Nurlnov (Kirgizstan) in under-12 boys category, but was held to a draw in the second round by Vaibhav Suri (India). Under-14 boys’ second seed Utkal Ranjan Sahu, however, suffered setbacks as he was held to a draw by compatriot Manjunath Nihal and then lost to FM Sahaj Grover, also from India. Sankalp Baliarsingh, the fourth Orissa player, competing in under-8 boys group, lost to Prameya Garge (India) before settling for a draw against Shirani Liri Nima.