Odisha State Sub Junior (Under 15) OPEN & GIRLS FIDE Rated Chess Championships 2026

Organised by Puri Club

Congratulations!

The top four (4) players from each category (OPEN & GIRLS) will be selected to represent Odisha State in the forthcoming National (U-15) OPEN & GIRLS Chess Championships will be held from 12th to 20th October 2026 at Saroor Nagar, Indoor Stadium, Dilshuknagar, Hyderabad, Telangana.

The Odisha State Sub Junior (Under-15) Open & Girls FIDE Rated Chess Championships 2026 were formally inaugurated at Conference Hall, Puri Club, Puri, in the presence of distinguished guests, organisers, officials, and young chess players from across the state.

The championship was inaugurated by Chief Guest Sj. Jagadish Dash, Indian Postal Services, Senior Superintendent of Post Offices, Puri Division. The ceremony was also graced by Sj. Nilamadhab Bhoi, ADM, Puri; Sri Satya Ranjan Pattanaik, President, All Odisha Chess Association, Sri Bimal Prasad Mohanty, Secretary, Puri District Chess Association; Sri Bhabesh Mohanty, Secretary, All Odisha Chess Association & from Puri Club Sri Ajit Ray, Vice Chairman, Sri Raj Kishore Patra, Sri Biswanath Mishra & Sri Sushant Singh.

Felicitation to FM Harshit Ranjan Sahu for achieving 3^rd IM Norm & CM Sattwik Swain for Bronze at FIDE World Cadet cup; Commonwealth (Under 10) One Silver & two bronze.

A total of 124 participants from 16 districts are taking part in the four-day FIDE-rated event, including 91 players in the Open category and 33 players in the Girls category. The Open section has 41 rated players, while the Girls section includes 16 rated players. Both championships are being conducted over eight rounds under the Swiss league system, with a time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment from move one. The total prize fund for the event is ₹30,000/-.

Saradha Bhagya Kamini emerged as the sole leader in the Girls section, while four players remained tied at the top of the Open section after the fourth round of the Odisha State Sub-Junior (Under-15) Open and Girls FIDE-Rated Chess Championships 2026 at the Conference Hall of Puri Club on Friday.

Second-day action at Puri Club leaves the title races finely poised after four rounds

The day’s decisive momentum began in the third round, when fifth seed Saradha Bhagya, rated 1552, upset top seed Nainika Sahoo (1687) on the first board. On board two, Tanvi Mishra of Dhenkanal held second seed Shradha Smaranika Nanda (1683) to a draw, while Samina Swain and Preetika Pradhan also shared the point on board three.

Saradha maintained her perfect run in the fourth round by defeating Amruta Priyalaxmi to reach four points from four games. Shradha Smaranika Nanda, Arnica Dash and Tanvi Mishra moved to 3½ points with victories over Samina Swain, Preetika Pradhan and Anushree Padhy, respectively, keeping the title contest close.

In the Open section, top seed CM Sattwik Swain (2044), second seed Ayushman Mohanty (2019), third seed Aryan Behera (1913) and fourth seed Swastik Suvam Patnaik (1793) all won their fourth-round games to remain joint leaders on four points.

Day 3 at Puri Club leaves both title races finely poised with two rounds remaining

Shradha Smaranika Nanda emerged as the sole leader in the Girls section, while Sattwik Swain and Aryan Behera shared the lead in the Open section after six rounds of the Odisha State Sub-Junior (Under-15) Open and Girls FIDE-Rated Chess Championships 2026 at the Conference Hall of Puri Club on Friday.

The decisive result in the Girls section came on the top board, where Shradha defeated Saradha Bhagya Kamini (1552). Amruta Priyalaxmi also scored a full point against Arnica Dash, while E. Ragini and Tanvi Mishra drew on board three.

Shradha maintained her unbeaten run with a sixth-round victory, moving to 5½ points from six games. Saradha Bhagya Kamini and Amruta Priyalaxmi followed on 5 points, keeping the race alive ahead of the final two rounds.

In the Open section, Aryan Behera (1913) drew with Swastik Suvam Patnaik (1793) on the top board, while CM Sattwik Swain defeated Ayushman Mohanty (2019) on board two. Om Swarup Padhi (1642) upset Sayansh Das (1741) on board four, and reigning state under-11 champion AIM Raghav Biswal (1558) overcame Aadarsh Kumar Beriha (1731) on board five.

Shradha Smaranika & Sattwik Swain clinched the Championships Trophy (U15) Girls & Open respectively.

In the Open Category, top seed CM Sattwik Swain of Khordha emerged as champion with 7 points from 6 wins and 2 draws. He received the Championship Trophy and a cash prize of ₹3,500/-. Second seed Aryan Behera of Jajpur, Swastik Suvam Pattnaik of Khordha, and Khetrabar Majhi of Khordha (KISS) finished level on 6½ points, with tie-breaks determining their final standings. Aryan Behera secured the runner-up position and received the Runner-up Trophy along with a cash prize of ₹2,500/-. Swastik Suvam Pattnaik finished third, receiving a trophy and ₹1,500/-, while Khetrabar Majhi placed fourth and received a trophy and ₹1,000/-. The final standings reflected a highly competitive contest among the top four players.

In the Girls Category, Shradha Smaranika Nanda of Cuttack emerged as champion after the final round, scoring 7 points with 6 wins and 2 draws. She received the Championship Trophy and a cash prize of ₹3,500/-. Fifth seed Saradha Bhagya Kamini of Khordha finished second with 6½ points from 6 wins and 1 draw, earning the Runner-up Trophy and a cash prize of ₹2,500/-. Top seed Nainika Sahoo of Khordha—Under-13 Girls State Champion and Under-17 Girls Runner-up—and Preetika Pradhan of Khordha secured third and fourth places, respectively, with 5½ points. They received cash prizes of ₹1,500/- and ₹1,000/-, respectively. With three draws recorded across the top seven boards in the final round, the category concluded with a notably decisive finish.

The championship concluded with a valedictory ceremony and prize distribution at 5:30 P.M. on 20th September 2026. The ceremony was graced by the Chief Guest, Sj. Sanatan Sahu, Secretary, Hockey Association of Odisha and the Guest of Honour, Sj Shri Pradeep Mohanty, Executive Committee Member, All Odisha Chess Association; Shri Subhasis Pattanaik, Secretary, Khordha District Chess Association; Shri Bimal Prasad Mohanty, Secretary, Puri District Chess Association; Shri Ajit Ray, Vice-President, Puri Club; Host: Shri Rabi Narayan Sahoo, Honorary Secretary, Puri Club. Their inspiring speeches motivated the gathering, and they presented prizes to the winners. The organizers also expressed their sincere appreciation for the enthusiastic support extended by the parents and guardians of the young participants.

The championship was conducted smoothly under the supervision of Chief Arbiter IA Suresh Chandra Sahoo, assisted by Deputy Chief Arbiter IA Jyoti Shankar Nanda, SNA Gourahari Mohapatra (Puri) and SNA Manoja Kumar Parida (Jajpur).

Contacts

Registration

IA Jyoti Shankar Nanda, 94394-90922, 76090-99886 (w)
IA Suresh Chandra Sahoo, 93370-33001, 97761-18644 (w)

Accommodation

Sri Manoj Kumar Panigrahi, Member, Puri Club
+91 98615-45173

Organising Committee

Sri Rabi Narayan Sahoo, Hon. Secy, Puri Club, +91 70086-18651
Sri Biswanath Mishra, Convenor, Sports Committee, Puri Club, +91 94386-72022
Sri Ranjan Mohanty, IRS, Chief Coordinator, +91 94370-37572
Sri Arghya Arpan Parida, Member, Puri Club, +91 79781-19053
Sri Rajdeep Ghosh, Member, Sports Committee, Puri Club, +91 90400-0955