Orissa players draw blank in Sub-junior National Chess

Orissa drew blank in the 36th National Sub-junior (U-15) Chess Championship, which was held in New Delhi from September 4 to 12. Out of eight players from the state, none could win a medal.

Mohammad Ashraf finished sixth, highest among five Orissa boys in the open category with eight points from 11 games. He won seven games, drew two and lost two. Among his statemates, Sidhant Mohapatra (7.5 points), Utkal Ranjan Sahoo (7 points), Rakesh Kumar Nayak (7 points) and Lochan Kumar Das (5.5 points) occupied the 13th, 22nd, 32nd and 94th positions respectively in the final standings.

In the girls` category (27th edition), Sunyasakta Satpathy finished 10th, the highest among three Orissa entrants, garnering seven points from 11 rounds. She won six games, drew two and lost three. Her statemates Smaraki Mohanty (7 points) and Krushna Mishra (6 points) were placed 14th and 40th respectively.