Bhubaneswar: It was red-letter day in Odisha chess as two players from the state finished first and second in an international Open meet for the first time.
GM Swayams Mishra emerged champion in the Seebach Weekend Open in Zurich, while IM Anwesh Upadhaya secured the runner-up position.
GM Swayams, the top-ranked player in the field with a FIDE rating of 2446, remained unbeaten and tallied 8 points with 7 wins and 2 draws.
IM Anwesh, the second-seeded player with a FIDE rating of 2409, won 7 games, drew 1 and lost 1 to end with 7.5 points – just half a point behind Swayams. Anwesh’s loss to Switzerland’s Timon Trubini cost him the championship.