Four youngsters from Orissa Qualify for chess titles

Four youngsters from Orissa have qualified for different titles on the basis of their impressive performance in the Asian Youth Chess Championship that concluded at Subic City in the Philippines earlier this year on May 21. According to communications from All India Chess Federation and All Orissa Chess Association, Sankalp Baliarsingh and Rakesh Kumar Jena have become eligible for Fide Master (FM) titles, while Rutumbara Bidhar and Utkal Ranjan Sahoo have qualified for Woman Fide Master (WFM) and Candidate Master (CM) titles respectively.

In the Asian Youth Championship, Sankalp and Rutumbara bagged gold medals in under-10 boys and girls categories respectively, while Utkal and Rakesh secured a bronze each in under-16 and under-10 boys sections respectively.

Altogether 11 Indians have become title qualifiers for their creditable show in the Asian Youth Championship, where the country bagged 18 out of a total of 36 medals. The 18 medals included 10 gold, four silver and four bronze. Players eligible for titles will get the same only after paying necessary fees.

If the four Orissa youngsters accept the offer, the total number of titled chess players of the state will go up to 11. Seven players already possessing titles are: Sekhar Chandra Sahu, Swayangsu Satyapragyan, Debashis Das, Anwesh Upadhyaya (all International Masters); Kiran Manisha Mohanty, Padmini Rout (both Woman Grand Masters) and Soumya Ranjan Mishra (Fide Master).