BHUBANESWAR 22-Aug-2013 210
Cuttack pair of IM Swayams Mishra and Ansuman Samal clinched a double for host Odisha, winning titles in above 2000 and below 2000 categories respectively in the 2nd Keshabananda Das Memorial All-India Twin Chess Tournament, which concluded at Hotel Seetal here today.
Overnight sole leader and second seed Mishra signed peace treaty with Hemant Sharma (Air India) in the seventh and final round to finish at the top of the table with 5.5 points. This was the second all-India title for Mishra, who had claimed his first at Kolkata four years ago.
A third year B Tech (IT) student of KIIT University, Mishra bagged top prize of Rs 50,000, while Tamil Nadu IM and third seed P Shyam Nikil, who was held to draw by S Ravi Teja (AP), received the runner-up prize of Rs 30,000, logging five points.
With seeded players adopting safety-first approach, nine of the top 10 boards in the final round ended in draws. The only board that produced decisive result was the fifth on which West Bengal IM Subhrajit Saha checkmated Himal Gusain to finish fifth with 4.5 points.
In the below 2000 category, overnight joint leaders Samal and S Ajay Krishna (Tamil Nadu) tied for the top spot, garnering 8.5 points from 10 rounds. But school boy Samal edged out Krishna in Buchholtz tie-break method to take the title and a cash prize of Rs 30,000.
This was the first all-India title for 11-year-old Samal, who had won the only other crown in the State Under-13 Championship last year at Cuttack. Runner-up Krishna settled with Rs 20,000. In the final round, Samal beat Soram Rahul Singh, while Krishna outwitted Sarbojit Pal (West Bengal).
D V Ravi, MD, Sriram Capitals Ltd, handed over the trophies in the closing function. Organising committee chairman Suryakant Das, All Odisha Chess Association president Sekhar Chandra Sahu, secretary Vivek Kumar Tibarewal and host Khurda District Chess Association secretary Subhasis Patnaik were present on the occasion.
FINAL STANDINGS (Top 10):
Rating 2000 & above: 1. Swayams Mishra (Odi, 5.5), 2. P Shyam Nikil (TN, 5), 3. Hemant Sharma (IA, 5), 4. S Ravi Teja (AP, 5), 5. Subhrajit Saha (WB, 5), 6. Anup Deshmukh (Mah, 4.5), 7. Rahul Sangma (Rly, 4.5), 8. V Pranavananda (AP, 4.5), 9. Swapnil Dhopade (Mah, 4.5), 10. Anwesh Upadhyaya (Odi, 4.5).
Rating below 2000: 1. Ansuman Samal (Odi, 8.5), 2. S Ajay Krishna (TN, 8.5), 3. Rajesh Diwan (MP, 7.5), 4. Rudraksh Parida (Odi, 7.5), 5. Sarbojit Paul (WB, 7.5), 6. Sunyasakta Satpathy (Odi, 7.5), 7. Subham Kaushik (Har, 7.5), 8. NLV Anusha (AP, 7.5), 9. Devesh Mukherjee (Raj, 7.5), 10. Vishwanath Prasad (AP, 7.5).
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PHOTO: Swayams Mishra (Right) and Ansumal Samal with their trophies in Bhubaneswar on August 22, 2013.
