BHUBANESWAR 07-Sep-2015
Odisha youngster Anwesha Mishra won the silver medal, scoring nine points out of a possible 11 in the girls category of the 29th National Under-13 Chess Championship, which concluded at Gurgaon, Haryana today. Sixth seed Anwesha remained unbeaten, while winning seven games and drawing the remaining four.
Priyanka Nutakki of Andhra Pradesh justified her status as top seed by winning the title with 10 points, while Vantika Agarwal of Delhi finished third with nine points. But Odisha WCM and third seed Saina Salonika contended herself with seventh position, securing 7.5 points. Anisha Mishra and WCM Shreya Smruti Mohanty, the other two Odisha girls in the fray, ended up 21st and 32nd with seven and six points respectively.
This was the third national medal for Anwesha, who had secured silver in the National U-9 Championship here in 2011 and bronze in the National U-11 Championship at Delhi in 2013. Standard-VIII student of Cuttack-based St Josephs Girls High School, Anwesha had also bagged gold medals in under-10 girls team rapid and blitz categories of the Asian Youth Chess Championship at Hikkaduwa (Sri Lanka) in 2012.
By finishing runner-up in the U-13 National Championship, Anwesha added 84 points to her previous international rating of 1765. According to Anwesha`s father Prakash Kumar Mishra, coach Rajesh Nayak has played a major role in shaping her chess career.
Meanwhile, West Bengal boy Neelash Saha emerged champion in the open category, garnering 10 points out of a possible 11, while Bhavik C Bharambe (Maharashtra) and P Iniyan (Tamil Nadu) finished second and third with 9.5 and 8.5 points respectively. Sambit Panda was most successful Odisha player in this category, occupying ninth position with eight points. His statemates Ansuman Samal (7.5) and Mahitosh Dey (4.5) finished 15th and 135th respectively.
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PHOTO: Anwesha Mishra with her trophy in Gurgaon on September 7, 2015.
