BHUBANESWAR 27-Jul-2013 163
Young International Master Debashis Das created history for Odisha chess by securing his third and final Grandmaster norm in the A category of the Czech Open Grandmaster Tournament at Pardubice in Czech Republic today.
Twenty-year-old Debashis beat Slovakia GM Peter Michalik in the ninth and final round to finish eighth with 6.5 points. Earlier, he held GMs Dmitri Kononenko (Ukraine) and Philipp Schlosser (Germany) to draws; beat IMs Bures Jaroslav (Czech Republic) and Chos Alexey (Czech Republic) to brighten his chances for the GM norm.
Debashis, who hails from Cuttack district, stands to gain 17 Elo points from this tournament. He needs another five points to reach 2,500 and become the first Grandmaster of Odisha.
Only son of Dilip Kumar Das and Namita Das, Debashis had claimed his first GM norm in the World Junior Championship at Athens in August, 2012 and the second in the 15th Dubai Open Chess Championship at Dubai in April this year. He is hopeful of garnering the five more Elo points in a month or so.
