Anshul Nigam of Jamshedpur, East Singhbhum, became the champion in the 17th Jharkhand State Senior FIDE (Federation International des Eshecs) Rating tournament, which ended at Sarla Birla Public School, Ranchi, on Sunday.

Anshul garnered 7 points to top the table after eight rounds, defeating West Singhbhum's Priyanka Kumari (6.5 points) by a whisker. He won Rs 10,000.

Alka Das of Jamshedpur, East Singhbhum finished third with 6 points under her belt.

In a shocker, three-time state champion Pritam Singh of income tax stood 10th, suggesting upcoming players made a mark in this tournament organised by All Jharkhand Chess Association (AJCA). Jamshedpur-based Singh managed only 5.5 points.

Anshul, who has an Elo rating of 1748, robbed Ranchi's Shashi Kant (1750), who was the topper till Saturday with 6 points, the chance to move forward on the points table by forcing him to play a draw in the seventh round on Sunday. Shashi had to concede to Anshul's smart moves.

The four-day contest proved Jamshedpur was the undisputed king of chess. Besides champion Anshul and the third-placed Alka, three others Nishant Kumar, Kumar Utkarsh and Shubham Srivatava from the steel city finished in the top 10.

Over 100 participants, including 30 rated players, from different districts, including Ranchi, twin Singhbhums, Seraikela-Kharsawan, Dhanbad, Godda, Bokaro and Hazaribagh, were part of the Rs 55,000 prize money event. Anshul apart, 14 top players got an equal share of Rs 45,000.