Pakistan Chess Champion Mahmood Lodhi Retains National Title With One Round to Go

Pakistan National Chess Champ Mahmood Lodhi

This chess news comes from the beautiful city of Karachi. Defending chess champion Mahmood Ahmed Lodhi won the 28th National Chess Championship with a round to go after a draw  with Waqar Ahmed Madni in the 10th round at Beach Luxury Hotel Hall here on Friday.

Lodhi, Pakistan’s highest rated chess star ever, however, failed to break the 50-year-old record of securing all a perfect 11 points. With nine and half points, Lodhi was assured of the 13th national title. With one round on Saturday, Lodhi was one and a half point ahead of the trio of Anwar Qureshi, Waqar Ahmed Madni and Asif-ur-Rehman, who got seven points apiece.

In the morning session, Gujranwala-based Lodhi overpowered Riasat Ali Nazim after 48-move in the ninth round. “Riasat is a tough opponent. He offered me great resistance before going down,” admitted veteran international Lodhi.

The 11th and final round of the championship will be played on Saturday and five top players will earn the right to represent Pakistan in the 40th Chess Olympiad to be held in Istanbul from August 27 to September 10.

In the National Women's chess Championship, holder Nida Mishraz and Zenobia Wasif were tied for the top spot as both had 6.5 points at the conclusion of the eighth and final round. The winner will be decided after calculations according to the rules of Federation International de Chess (FIDE).

Points leaders:
Men: 9.5 pts - Mahmood Ahmed Lodhi (Pjb)
7 pts - Anwar Qureshi (Sindh), Waqar Ahmed Madni (Pjb), Asif-ur-Rehman (PIA)
6.5 pts - Haseeb Ahmed (Sindh), Hasan Rasheed (Sindh)
Women:
6.5 pts - Nida Mishraz (Sindh), Zenobia Wasif (Sindh)
5 pts - Ghazala Shabbir (Sindh)
4.5 pts - Gulrukh (Pjb), Fatima Shabbir (Sindh)

Posted in: mahmood ahmed lodhi,pak national chess,pakistan chess,waqar ahmed madni