BHUBANESWAR 08-Apr-2012 320
FIDE Master Soumya Ranjan Mishra outwitted Aparajita Gochhikar in the 10th and last round to emerge champion in the 52nd Odisha State Senior Fide Rating Chess Championship at Kalyan Mandap, Nalco Township (Angul) today. Third seed Mishra and overnight sole leader Mohammad Ashraf (Cuttack) tied for the top spot, garnering 8.5 points each. But the former eventually pocketed and title and a cash prize of Rs 8,000, pipping the latter via Buchholz tie-break score.
Sixth seed Ashraf, who settled with the runner-up prize of Rs 5,000, squandered his title-winning opportunity by drawing the last game against seventh seed Sidhant Mohapatra (Bhadrak). Top seed WGM Padmini Rout (Bhubaneswar), who was held to a draw in the last round by fourth seed Manoj Kumar Panigrahi (Puri), contended herself with the third position, which fetched her Rs 4,000. Top 20 finishers shared a total prize fund of Rs 40,000.
Angul Collector Siba Prasad Mishra handed over the trophy and cash prizes at the closing function. Angul ADM Ashok Kumar Sahu, Nalco General Manager Ashok Kumar Sahu, DGM Pradosh Kumar Mohanty, All Orissa Chess Association secretary Vivek Kumar Tibarewal, host Angul District Chess Association president Santanu Kumar Sar and general secretary Basant Kumar Das were present on the occasion. The top four finishers qualified to represent Odisha in the National Challenger Championship to be held at Tirupathi from May 18 to 28.
Final standings (Top 20): 1. Soumya Ranjan Mishra (Bbsr, 8.5 points), 2. Mohammad Ashraf (Ctc, 8.5), 3. Padmini Rout (Bbsr, 7.5), 4. Manoj Kumar Panigrahi (Puri, 7.5), 5. Utkal Ranjan Sahoo (Rkl, 7.5), 6. Rakesh Kumar Jena (Jajpur, 7.5), 7. Sidhant Mohapatra (Bhdk, 7.5), 8. KL Bhoi (Sblp, 7.5), 9. Aparajita Gochhikar (Puri, 7), 10. Sankalp Baliarsingh (Bbsr, 7), 11. Ajay Darjee (Blng, 7), 12. Saswat Khuntia (Ctc, 7), 13. Rutumbara Bidhar (Bbsr, 7), 14. Smaraki Mohanty (Ctc, 6.5), 15. Sradhanjali Jena (Jajpur, 6.5), 16. Pradeep Kumar Das (Angul, 6.5), 17. Bhaskar Sri Viswaroopanand (Puri, 6.5), 18. Sourav Mohanty (Puri, 6.5), 19. Susobhit Das (Rkl, 6.5), 20. Gopal Ch Mahapatra (Puri, 6.5).
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PHOTO: Top four finishers (Left to right) Manoj Panigrahi, Padmini Rout, Soumya Ranjan Mishra and Mohammad Ashraf in Angul on April 8, 2012.
