Deep Das Tops the Chessboard, Wins Open Title at Silchar’s Independence Day Championship

Deep Das won the Open Category of the Independence Day Chess Championship 2026, organised by Kristi Vibek Sangskritik Sangstha in association with the Cachar District Chess Association.

Das topped the points table to win the Sudhangshu Dutta Memorial Trophy at the two-day championship held on August 15 and 16 at Pranabananda International School, Tarapur. A total of 113 chess players participated in the competition.

Somagnik Chakraborty finished second, while Subhradeep Roy secured third place in the Open Category.

In the Under-15 Rated Category, Pratik Kanti Paul won the title. Yash Chakraborty finished second and Shlok Suklabaidya came third.

In the Under-7 boys’ category, Naitik Kanu won the first prize, followed by Naitik Dey and Bikash Das. Lakshita Paul won the Under-7 girls’ category.

Swarnavo Podder won the Under-9 boys’ category, while Shreejita Dhar topped the Under-9 girls’ category. Adhiraj Paul and Aaradhya Bhattacharjee won the Under-11 boys’ and girls’ categories respectively.

Apurba Choudhury won the Under-13 boys’ category, while Aaditri Chakraborty topped the girls’ category. Arkadeep Nath and Sarita Kairi won the Under-15 boys’ and girls’ categories respectively.

During the prize distribution ceremony, Rajya Sabha MP Kanad Purkayastha praised the young players and said steps would be taken to develop infrastructure in Silchar for hosting FIDE-rated tournaments.

Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev, who represents West Bengal, highlighted the role of Kristi Vibek Sangskritik Sangstha in promoting sports in the region. She also encouraged young athletes and chess players from Barak Valley to aim for higher levels of competition.

Cachar District Chess Association president Bibendu Das highlighted the achievements of chess players from Cachar in major competitions. He also referred to recent performances by local players in FIDE-rated and international age-group events.

Other speakers at the ceremony included DSA Silchar president S.B. Dutta, former Silchar MLA Dipayan Chakraborty and Pranabananda International School principal Partha Pratim Adhikary. KVSS president Kushumeshu Purkayastha and former DSA president Babul Hore were also present.