Champion Neelotpal Das with his trophy during the 2nd Tata All India Open Chess Tournament in JRD Tata Sports Complex. Picture by Srinivas

Jamshedpur, April 15: Grandmaster (GM) Neelotpal Das of ONGC emerged champion of the 2nd Tata All India Open Chess Tournament, which concluded at JRD Tata Sports Complex today.

Vikramaditya Kamble of Railways finished runners-up while teammate M.S. Thejkumar had to be satisfied with the third slot.

Das walked home with a trophy and Rs 70,000 while Kamble was awarded a trophy and Rs 50,000. Tata Steel vice -president Sanjiv Paul gave away the prizes.

Das, who always looked a winner during the week-long tourney being held here after a gap of six years, played a draw with Anwesh Upadhyaya in the 10th and final round this morning.

The ONGC player, who originally hails from Bengal, garnered 8.5 points to emerge champion.

The top 15 contestants, including GM Sriram Jha of LIC, were also awarded cash prizes.

In the rated category, Smaraki Mohanty of Orissa came out a winner whereas Jharkhand’s Minal Mishra took the second spot.

In the unrated category, Jharkhand’s Manoj Kumar emerged champion while Maharashtra’s Anand Nana Yashwante finished runners-up.

Cash awards were also distributed among players of various age groups.