Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, May 31: IM Swayams Mishra earned his second GM norm when he finished joint third (17th overall) with 6.5 points in the Elite category of the KIIT International Chess Festival, which concluded here Sunday.
Swayams, who earned his first GM norm in the same event a year ago, created an upset of sorts by holding higher-ranked Indian GM MR Lalith Babu to a draw. He received Rs 9,000 along with a certificate.
Meanwhile, GM Debashis Das, salvaged some pride for Orissa by defeating Rahul Sangma in his last round game here. He finished in joint fifth position with six points.
GM Sandipan Chanda of West Bengal emerged as the winner in the Elite category when he defeated IM Himangshu Sharma of Delhi with ease. Russian GM Pavel Smirnov came second in the same category while Mikheil Mchedlishvili came third. The champion received Rs 3,00,000 a along with a trophy, while runners-up Smirnov was given a trophy and Rs 2,00,000.
Swayams looked happy after getting his second norm. “I am very happy. But I will not rest on my laurels and try and achieve my third norm as quickly as possible,” he stated. In the Premium category, Manish Kumar emerged as the top ranked Orissa player as he finished in joint third position (overall sixth) with eight points. He defeated Ankur Kumar Pathak in the last round and for his efforts was rewarded with Rs 4,000.
Ashwin Kumar Grover of Pune emerged champion in the Premium category with nine points. He received Rs 50,000 and a trophy. Ashwin was followed by VR Prakash and Stephen A Raj who stood second and third respectively.