Notwithstanding a last-round defeat, V R Santhosh of Kerala emerged champion in the 1st IMT All-India Fide Rating (Below 1600) Chess Tournament, which concluded at Srigundicha Bhakta Nivas in Puri today.
P Baskar of Puducherry beat overnight sole leader Santhosh in the ninth and last round to tie for the top spot with eight points. But on the basis of Buchholz tie-break method, 34-year-old Santhosh took the title and the top prize of Rs 1 lakh, while 31-year-old Baskar contended himself with the runner-up prize of Rs 60,000. West Bengal boy Koustav Chakraborty, who finished third with 7.5 points, became richer by Rs 40,000.
A whopping 406 players from 18 states and union territories participated in the three-day tournament, which was organised by S R Chess Centre, under the aegis of District Chess Association of Puri and All Odisha Chess Association.
The tournament carried a total prize fund of Rs 5 lakhs and four tablest, which were claimed by Amarendra Khamari (Odisha), Bristy Mukherjee, Soumyajit Das (both WB) and Diptam Manya (Bihar) in different rating categories. But the entry fees were also equally high _ Rs 3,500 for Odisha players and Rs 4,500 for others.
Badrinath Patnaik, Chancellor, Kallinga University, Raipur, handed over the trophies and cash prizes at the closing function. AOCA secretary Vivek Kumar Tibarewal, SR Chess Centre chairman Subhasis Patnaik and director Satya Ranjan Pattanaik were present on the occasion.
FINAL STANDINGS (Top 20): 1. VR Santhosh (Ker, 8), 2. P Baskar (Pud, 8), 3. Koustav Chakraborty (WB, 7.5), 4. Moksh Amitbhai Doshi (Guj, 7.5), 5. Ganesh Tajane (Mah, 7.5), 6. Vaibhav Barahate (Mah, 7.5), 7. KR Prasath (TN, 7.5), 8. Vishal Thorat (Mah, 7.5), 9. S Shivshankar Iyer (WB, 7.5), 10. Swastik Sourav Sahoo (Odh, 7), 11. M Aziz (Ker, 7), 12. Hrusikesh Rath (Odi, 7), 13. Dhiraj Patil (Mah, 7), 14. Arya Bhakta (WB, 7), 15. Om Mishra (Odi, 7), 16. Srinivasa Rao Bayya (AP, 7), 17. Sayantan Mukherjee (WB, 7), 18. Nilsu Pattnayak (Odi, 7), 19. Vijayan Dinakaran (Ker, 7), 20. Prakash Chandra Sahoo (Odi, 6.5).
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PHOTO: Top three finishers VR Santhosh (C), P Baskar (L) and Koustav Chakraborty (R) with guests in Puri on April 6, 2014.