Sidhant, Akankhya win State sub-junior chess titles

Sidhant Mohapatra (Bhadrak) and Akankhya Kabi (Bhubaneswar) won the boys and girls titles respectively in the Orissa State Sub-junior (under-15) Chess Championship, which concluded at Rajasthan Bhawan, Motiganj, Balasore today. Top seed Sidhant beat Mohit Sahu in the seventh and last round to top the table with 6.5 points. Cuttack boy Mohammad Ashraf also finished with 6.5 points, defeating Baivab Mishra in his last game. Sidhant eventually claimed the title, pipping Ashraf in the tie-breaker. In the girls’ category, four players tied for the top spot with four points each from five rounds. However, Akankhya bagged the crown on the basis of Buchholz rule, while Sunyasakta Satpathy, Shradhanjali Jena and Akankshya Nayak occupied the second, third and fourth positions respectively. The top four finishers in each cagetory qualifed to represent Orissa in the National Sub-junior Championship to be held at Mumbai from November 1 to 9. The three-day state championship was conducted by Balasore District Chess Association. Final standings (Top 10): Boys: 1. Sidhant Mohapatra (6.5), 2. Mohammad Ashraf (6.5), 3. Rakesh Kumar Nayak (5.5), 4. Baivab Mishra (5), 5. Mohit Sahu (5), 6. Binit Binayak Pati (5), 7. Saswat Mohanty (4.5), 8. Saswat Khuntia (4.5), 9. Anshuman Pujari (4.5), 10. Chiranjeeb Routray (4.5). Girls: 1. Akankhya Kabi (4), 2. Sunyasakta Satpathy (4), 3. Shradhanjali Jena (4), 4. Akankshya Nayak (4), 5. Smaraki Mohanty (3), 6. Raj Rajeswaree Dash (3), 7. Sovna Sonali Jena (3), 8. Saina Salonika (2.5), 9. Adyasha Patnaik (2.5), 10. Krushna Mishra (2).