ITANAGAR, 20 Jul: Tadam Dupit emerged the champion of the Arunachal Pradesh State-Level Open FIDE Rating Chess Championship-2026 on tie-break.
Tadam and his brother Tabu Dupit earned 7½ points each, but Tadam took the title on tie-break.
Tachung Dupit finished third with 7 points, while Karu Julai Londa of East Kameng finished fourth with 7 points.
It is worth mentioning that the Dupit bothers -Tadam, Tabu, and Tachung – are from the same family.
The top four finishers have qualified to represent Arunachal Pradesh in the forthcoming National Chess Championship to be held in Uttar Pradesh.
In addition, the top 15 players earned qualification for the North East Chess Championship.
Although it was the 15th edition, only seven players have ever won the title since its inception.
Tabu Dupit remains the most successful champion with five titles, followed by Bharat Linggi with three, Tadam Dupit and Tachung Dupit with two titles each, while Raluk Dui, Gapor Dupit and Tamchi Kache have won the championship once each.
Remarkably, all former state champions, except Bharat Linggi, participated in this year’s championship.
The championship also highlighted the rapid growth of grassroots chess in the state.
Children as young as eight years old competed with remarkable confidence, and several age-category winners performed impressively in the open event by scoring valuable points against experienced players.
Congratulating all the winners, AAPCA president Niapung Konia appealed to members of the chess fraternity across the state to actively mentor young children and nurture emerging talent. He assured that the association would continue extending every possible logistical support to coaches and players.
“The future of Arunachal chess depends on collective efforts to build a strong foundation at the grassroots level,” he said.
Superintending Engineer Marter Riba distributed the prizes to the winners during the closing ceremony.
The championship was inaugurated by MLA Likha Soni.
The five-day championship, organised by the All Arunachal Pradesh Chess Association (AAPCA) here from 15 to 19 July, witnessed the participation of 129 players from across the state.
The winners of the various age categories included:
U-17 (girls): Kej Yaka; U-13 (girls): Tomo Doyom; U-11 (girls): Posmi Ronya.
U-17 (boys): 1st: Tenzing Rigyal, 2nd: Byabang Kamku; U-13 boys: 1st: Podha Ronya, 2nd: Kartik Kumar; U-11 boys: 1st: Dogom Gara, 2nd: KojHempyo.
Women’s category: Devani Mara. Best unrated: Suresh Maying, and best veteran: Niapung Konia.
