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GM Abdulla Al Rakib qualifies for the World Cup 2017

by IA Dharmendra Kumar - 20/04/2017

Asian Zonal 3.2 championship was held in Kathmandu, Nepal. The countries eligible to take part in this event are Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Maldives. The best players from Bangladesh showed a clear domination in both open and women's category. GM Abdulla Al Rakib pipped Ziaur Rahman at the finish line to take the lone World Cup spot, while in the women's section it was the indomitable 73-year-old Rani Hamid who emerged victorious. We have a beautiful report sent to us by IA Dharmendra Kumar.

Asian Zonal 3.2: GM Mollah Abdulla Al Rakib qualifies for World Cup 

Twenty players from Asian countries are qualified for the prestigious FIDE World Cup. India and China being powerhouse nations, have separate chess zones.  Two players from China, and one player (National Premier Champion) from India, secure berths in the World Cup. Remaining 17 players are qualified through Asian Continental and Asian Zonal championships.

 

The Asian Zonal 3.2, featured players from South Asian nations including host Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Maldives. India doesn't fall in this zone. It was held in Kathmandu from March 18 to 28 with a  total prize fund of $6500.  

Nepal Chess Association (NCA) hosted this championship.

Hotel Yellow Pagoda, the venue of the tournament

The tournament was inaugurated by Mr. Jhalnath Khanal, Former Prime Minister of Nepal and Rajesh Joshi, Zonal President. 3.2 Zone

Introduction of arbiter's team by Chief Arbiter IA Dharmendra Kumar (the author of this report)

A vibrant opening ceremony!

GM Molla Abdulla Al Rakib (2492) of Bangladesh
GM Abudulla Al Rakib remained undefeated throughout the tournament. He scored 8.0/9 points, drawing two games against GM Rahman Zaur and FM Rahman Syed Mahfuzur respectively. In the final round, he registered a crushing victory against experienced GM Hossain Enamul. 
[Event "Asian Zonal 3.2"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.03.27"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Mollah Abdullah , Al Rakib"]
[Black "Hossain, Enamul"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A45"]
[WhiteElo "2492"]
[BlackElo "2474"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2017.04.19"]
[SourceDate "2017.04.19"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 c5 3. d5 Qb6 4. Nc3 Qxb2 5. Bd2 Qb6 6. e4 d6 7. f4 e6 8. Rb1
Qd8 9. Bb5+ Bd7 10. dxe6 fxe6 11. e5 Nd5 12. Qh5+ g6 13. Qg4 Qe7 14. Ne4 Qf7
15. c4 Nb4 16. Nf3 N8c6 17. Nf6+ Kd8 18. Bxb4 cxb4 19. Ng5 Qe8 20. Rd1 h6 21.
Rxd6 hxg5 22. Rxd7+ Qxd7 23. Nxd7 Kxd7 24. Qxg5 Be7 25. Qxg6 Rag8 26. Qe4 1-0 

Top-seeded GM Rahman Zaur, a regular in the Indian circuits settled for second place. He scored 7.5/9 but lost his game against GM Niaz Murshed.

Niaz Murshed was naturally thrilled at having beaten his long time rival and friend Ziaur Rahman

 Unherlded Kalugampitiya RS of Sri Lanka finished fourth and achieved FIDE Mater title. 

Final Ranking after 9 Rounds

Rk. SNo     Name FED RtgI Pts.  TB1   TB2   TB3 
1 2   GM Mollah Abdullah Al Rakib BAN 2492 8,0 0,0 44,0 48,0
2 1   GM Rahman Ziaur BAN 2520 7,5 0,0 45,5 50,0
3 4   GM Murshed Niaz BAN 2422 6,5 0,0 46,0 50,5
4 9     Kalugampitiya R S SRI 2129 6,0 0,0 35,0 38,0
5 7   FM Hasan Mehdi BAN 2263 5,5 0,0 44,5 45,5
6 8   FM Rahman Syed Mahfuzur BAN 2250 5,5 0,0 44,0 47,0
7 10   CM Kayastha Madan Krishna NEP 2099 5,5 0,0 41,5 45,0
8 12   CM Shrestha Keshav NEP 2077 5,0 0,0 45,5 50,0
9 3   GM Hossain Enamul BAN 2474 5,0 0,0 45,0 49,5
10 6   FM Rahman Md. Taibur BAN 2341 5,0 0,0 40,5 44,5

Complete list of final rankings 

Women's Section  

WIM Rani Hamid of Bangladesh is the Zonal Queen. She is 73yrs old! Her love for chess is astonishing.  

Runner-up Shamima Akter of Bangladesh. As she is already a WIM, second runner-up Nazrana Khan earned a WIM norm.
[Event "Asian Zonal 3.2"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.03.27"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Shamima, Akter"]
[Black "Shrestha , Sabina"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D14"]
[WhiteElo "2077"]
[BlackElo "1405"]
[PlyCount "49"]
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Bf4 Bf5 7. e3 e6 8. Qb3
Qd7 9. Ne5 Qc8 10. Bb5 Bd6 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Bxd6 Qd7 13. Ba3 cxb5 14. Nxb5 Qc6
15. Qb4 Kd8 16. Qe7+ Kc8 17. Nd6+ Kb8 18. O-O Qd7 19. Nxf5 exf5 20. Qb4+ Qb7
21. Qd6+ Qc7 22. Qa6 Ne8 23. Rac1 Qd7 24. Rc3 Nc7 25. Rb3+ 1-0 

A video showing the settings of the Asian Zonal 3.2. It was a nice feel to see that Men and Women played in the same hall. 

Final Ranking after 9 Rounds

Rk. SNo     Name FED RtgI Pts.  TB1   TB2   TB3 
1 3   WIM Hamid Rani BAN 1990 8,0 1,0 42,0 44,0
2 1   WIM Shamima Akter BAN 2077 8,0 0,0 42,0 42,0
3 4   WFM Khan Nazrana BAN 1904 6,0 0,0 42,0 42,0
4 5     Sharmin Samiha Shimmi BAN 1842 5,5 1,0 40,5 40,5
5 2   WFM Sultana Sharmin Shirin BAN 1998 5,5 0,0 40,5 40,5
6 6     Saumy Zainab SRI 1788 5,0 0,0 43,0 45,0
7 7   WCM Chowdhury Mahmuda Hoque BAN 1740 4,0 1,0 39,5 39,5
8 9     Thapa Shanta NEP 1626 4,0 1,0 39,0 39,0
9 12     Shrestha Sabina NEP 1405 4,0 1,0 38,5 38,5
10 8     Kusi Matina NEP 1701 2,0 1,0 38,0 38,0
Complete list of rankings

Closing ceremony

Welcome to Nepal! Deputy President of Asian Chess Federation and Chairman of FIDE Technical commission Mr. Bharat Singh Chauhan receives a warm welcome!

The FIDE Anthem in progress!
WIM Hamid Rani ecstatic with her win 

GM Abdulla Al Rakib has successfully qualified for the FIDE World Cup to be held in Tbilisi, Georgia in September.

Sightseeing in Nepal

 

Participant in the local traditional shop

Deputy President of Asian Federation & AICF CEO Mr Bharat Singh Chauhan, along with his wife visited famous Darbar Square Area  

 Bangladesh players during sightseeing
Women's Champion WIM Hamid Rani enjoying the cable ride 

Cable rides enable tourists to indulge in Nepal's serene and scenic mountains. 

About the author

IA Dharmendra Kumar is one of the most well known and respected arbiters in India. He is perhaps the only person in the country, who makes a living out of being an arbiter. Visiting new places, witnessing the natural beauty and spreading the game of chess are his main interests. He is also an author for the ChessBase India Hindi newspage.


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