Harshit Ranjan Sahu and Yashita Rout won the open and girls title respectively in the Odisha State Sub-Junior (U-16) Chess Championship, which was held at Annapurna Theatre in Puri on 29 and 30 December 2021. District Chess Association of Puri (DCAP) organised the tournament, under the aegis of All Odisha Chess Association (AOCA).

Harshit and Omm Aditya Khadanga tied for the top honour in the open category with five points each. But the former was declared champion on Buchholz tie-break system, while Omm settled as runner-up. Yashita emerged undisputed champion in girls category with 4.5 points to her name, while Suhana Jena fininished runner-up with four points.

A total of 76 players (Open 56, Girls 20) from eidht districts participated in the tournament. The top four finishers qualified to represent Odisha in the National Sub-Junior (U-16) Chess Championship, scheduled to be held from 23 to 31 January 2022 in Visakhapatnam.

AOCA Secretary Debabrata Bhatta graced the closing ceremony as chief guest and handed over the prizes. Present on the occasion were: Puri District Sports Officer Chandan Kumar Sahoo, DCAP President Narayan Patra, Vice-President Suresh Chandra Sahoo, Secretary Pradyumna Mishra and Chief Arbiter Santosh Kumar Mohapatra.

FINAL RANKINGS (Top 10):

OPEN: 1. Harshit Ranjan Sahu, Cuttack (5 Points), 2. Omm Aditya Khadanga, Khordha (5), 3. Arin Anwesh Swain, Khordha (4), 4. Pratyush Mohapatra, Khordha (4), 5. Suka Murmu, Cuttack (4), 6. Stitaprangya Sahoo, Khordha (4), 7. Swayam Agarwal, Sundagarh (4), 8. Pratik Chourasia, Khordha (3.5), 9. Ayushman Mohanty, Puri (3.5), 10. Satyam Sarbajit Mishra, Jajpur (3.5).

GIRLS: 1. Yashita Rout, Khordha (4.5 Points), 2. Suhana Jena, Khordha (4), 3. Pritisha, Mitra, Puri (4), 4. Anishka Pandey, Khordha (3.5). 5. P Sairupa, Cuttack (3.5), 6. Shradha Smaranika Nanda, Cuttack (3.5), 7. Neetisha Sur, Cuttack (3), 8. Sahana Lenka, Khordha (3), 9. Shreesti Shreyasi, Puri (3), 10.  Subhasmita Priyadarshini, Khordha (3).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHOTO: Top four finishers in open and girls categories with guests and organizing officials at the closing ceremony in Puri on 30 December 2021.