Pak Chess Kid Heads to Istanbul Chess Olympiad at Age 11

It's always a pleasure to have chess news come in from Pakistan that is only beginning to witness chess at the national level. We thank our readers who have pointed out the following videos of 11-year-old Mehak Gul Zahid. It is her father who has inspired her to take chess and she is now going to be one of the youngest participants at the Istanbul Chess Olympiad 2012. Gul has been playing chess since she was six and recently qualified for the national team. A student of the Lahore Garrison School in Township, Gul won school chess championship back in 2010 after which she participated in the Punjab Chess Championship in June this year. She came third in the competition. Enjoy the videos.

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Pakistan Chess 2012 Round 5 - Defending Champion Lodhi Leads

Nida Siddiqui, Defending
Champion among women

Pakistan national chess champion Mehmood Lodhi is defending his title at the 2012 championship in Karachi and is leading after five rounds. He beat Raees Ansari on the third day of the event and remains unbeaten in the tournament so far. He is followed by Anwar Qureshi in second place with 4.5 points. Eight other players are still vying for third place in the event that features 80 players from four provinces and sports departments of Pakistan. Meanwhile, in the women’s championship, national champion Nida Siddique, Zenobia Wasif and Ghazala have secured two points each.The championships are also being held to select the Pakistan chess team for the forthcoming chess olympiad to be held in Istanbul, Turkey in August.

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