Asit Kumar Mohanty, from Puri, emerged champion in the 3rd OCAVC Odisha State Chess Championship for the Visually Challenged, which was organised by the Odisha Chess Association for the Visually Challenged (OCAVC) with the support of the Department of Sports & Youth Services (DSYS), Government of Odisha, and professional chess training academy, ProChessTA at ProChessTA, Bhubaneswar on 26 and 27 September 2026.

In the six-round tournament, Mohanty, who works as an English lecturer at the Nimapara Autonomous College, scored 5.5 points to regain the title after a gap of one year. He was the runner-up in the previous edition.

Defending champion Nemai Das (Kendrapada) also garnered 5.5, but finished runner-up on the basis of Buchholz tie-break score. The third position was claimed by Deepak Kumar Bhoi (Khordha) with five points.

The championship carried a total prize fund of Rs 40,000, including Rs 10,000 for the champion, Rs 7,000 for the first runner-up and Rs 5,000 for the second runner-up. A total of 59 visually challenged chess players from 17 districts participated in the tournament.

Asit Mohanty, Nemai Das and Itikrishna Bhanja (Balasore) were selected to represent Odisha at the forthcoming AICFB National Team Chess Championship, scheduled to be held at Palanpur, Gujarat from 23 to 25 October 2026. The top 15 finishers, along with the best three juniors and best three women players, were selected for the AICFB East Zone Chess Championship.

Bratati Harichandan, State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, joined the closing ceremony as chief guest and handed over the trophies and cash prizes. DSYS Additional Secretary Bijaya Kumar Swain and former Railway sports administrator Dillip Kumar Samantaray were present as guests of honour.

Also present were ProChessTA Administrator IM Swayangsu Satyapragyan, Special Olympics Bharat Area Director Prakash Rath, OCAVC president Sanyasai Kumar Behera, convenor Biranchi Narayan Sahoo and former National champion Prachurya Kumar Pradhan.

FINAL RANKINGS (Top 10): 1. Asit Kumar Mohanty (Puri, 5.5 pts), 2. Nemai Das (Kendrapada, 5.5), 3. Deepak Kumar Bhoi (Khordha, 5), 4. Subash Behera (Khordha, 5), 5. Kunal Kumar Mrudangia (Ganjam, 5),  6. Sudhir Kumar Nayak (Cuttack, 4.5), 7. Girish Chandra Behera (Nayagarh, 4.5), 8. Buddha Dev Sahu (Bargarh, 4.5), 9. Ashini Naik (Balasore, 4), 10. Etikrishna Bhanja (Balasore, 4).
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PHOTO: Top three prize winners with guests and organizing officials pose at the 3rd OCAVC Odisha State Chess Championship for the Visually Challenged in Bhubaneswar on 27 Sept 2026.