Cuttack youth Nilsu Pattnayak won the title in the 63rd Odisha State Senior Chess Championship, which was organised by Mayurbhanj District Chess Association (MDCA), under the aegis of All Odisha Chess Association (AOCA) at Baripada Stadium in Baripada (Mayurbhanj) from 28 June to 2 July 2023.

This was the maiden Senior State title for Pattnayak, who scored 7.5 points out of a possible nine. He won seven games, drew one and lost one. Pattnayak suffered an upset in the first round, losing to Sai Krishna Managaraj of Khordha. But he won seven games in a row to clinch the title and the top prize of Rs 10,000.

Balasore veteran Debasis Chakrabarty also garnered 7.5 points to tie for the top spot. However, he had to settle for the runner-up prize of Rs 7,000 on the basis of Buchholz tie-break score.

Priansh Das (Jajpur) and Rakesh Kumar Nayak (Khordha) finished third and fourth with seven points each. The top four finishers qualified to represent Odisha in the Senior National Chess Championship, scheduled to be held in Nasik, Maharashtra from 15 to 27 August 2023.

FINAL RANKINGS (Top 20): 1. Nilsu Pattnayak    (Cuttack, 7.5), 2. Debasis Chakrabarty (Balasore, 7.5), 3. Priansh Das (Jajpur, 7), 4. Rakesh Kumar Nayak (Khordha, 7). 5. Majhi Fakir (KISS, 7), 6. Pratyasha Jena (Cuttack, 7), 7. Tapan Badamundi (Gajapati, 7), 8. Srinath Bhoi (Balasore, 7), 9. Sajan Kumar Nayak (KISS, 6.5), 10. Sriansh Das (Jajpur, 6.5), 11. Prasanna Kumar Nayak (Jharsuguda 6.5), 12. Rajendra Kumar Sahu (Khordha, 6), 13. Ayushman Mohanty (Puri, 6), 14. Ansuman Samal (Cuttack, 6), 15. Sanjeeban Nayak (Jajpur, 6), 16. Shrihan Sabat (Ganjam, 6), 17. Goura Hari Mohapatra (KISS, 6), 18. Aryan Behera (Jajpur, 6), 19. Srinibas Mishra (Angul, 6), 20. Uttam Chatria (KISS, 6).
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PHOTO: Top four prize winners (L-R), Nilsu Pattnayak, Debasis Chakrabarty, Priansh Das and Rakesh Kumar Nayak with AOCA secretary Debabrata Bhatta (Middle) at the closing ceremony of the State Senior Chess Championship in Baripada on 2 July 2023.