Anwesh, Aparajita win State u-17 chess titles

Anwesh Upadhyaya (Bhubaneswar) and Aparajita Gochhikar (Puri) annexed the boys and girls titles respectively in the State Under-17 Chess Championship at Chaturbhuj Dharmasala in Berhampur today. Anwewesh, who qualified for National ‘A’ by finishing 14th in the recent National ‘B’ Championship at Kolkata, topped the table with 6.5 points from seven rounds. Biswajeet Nayak, also from Bhubaneswar, finished runner-up in the boys’ category, securing six points. In the girls’ category, Aparajita garnered 4.5 points from five rounds, while Smaraki Mohanty (Cuttack) emerged runner-up with four points. Top two finishers in both the categories qualified to represent Orissa in the National u-17 championship to be held at Chakradharpur from October 6 to 14. Sana Khemundi MLA Ramesh Jena gave away the prizes at the closing function. The three-day state championship was organised by Ganjam District Chess Association, under the aegis of Orissa Chess Ad-hoc Committee. Final standings: Boys: 1. Anwesh Upadhyaya (6.5), 2. Biswajjeet Nayak (6), 3. Sourav Mohanty (6), 4. Rakesh Kumar Nayak (5.5), 5. Rakesh Jena (5.5), 6. Sumit Kumar Banerjee (5.5), 7. Johnson Sahu (5), 8. Baibhab Mishra (5), 9. Bhaskar Sree Biswaroopanand (5), 10. Rajesh Kumar Nayak (5). Girls: 1. Aparajita Gochhikar (4.5), 2. Smaraki Mohanty (4), 3. Akankhya Kabi (3.5), 4. Sovna Sonali Jena (3), 5. Sradhanjali Jena (3), 6. Anwesha Mishra (2.5), 7. D Patnaik (2), 8. Banita Biswasray (2), 9. Raj Rajeswari Das (2), 10. Adyasa Patnaik (1.5).