Iranians Take Top Spots in Asian Zonal

Iranian duo best in Asian chess October 23, 2007 IRAN's Ihsan Maghami and compatriot Atousa Porakishan emerged winner in the men's and women's divisions, respectively, of the 2007 Asian Zonal Chess Championship and reached the World Cup finals to be staged in Mansiysk, Russia, from November 22 to December 18. The Asian Zonal Championship, which concluded last Sunday at Mishtan Hotel in Manama, saw stiff competition in the final round, particularly in the men's section. Maghami completed the nine-round Swiss system event on level terms with the UAE's Taleb Mousa with 7.5 points each from seven wins and a draw. However, with only one player from this division qualifying for the World Cup, the championship was decided on tiebreak scores which gave veteran Maghami the upper hand. They were followed by Mahjoob Murtada (6.5 points) of Iran in second place, Jordan's Sami Khader (6) third, Laith Ali (4.5) of Iraq fourth, Iran's Qanea Shoja'at (4) fifth, Ali Al Sulaiti and Maher Aayyad (3 each) sixth, Hussain Ayyad (2.5) seventh and Omran Al Mousawi (0.5) of Kuwait eighth. In the six-player women's division, Atousa came on top with 9.5 points from 10 matches after a fierce battle with her compatriot Paridar Shadi (8.5) who finished second. Zaina Bassil (5.5) of Iraq came third, followed by Bahrain's Dalal Al Ghasra (4.5) who finished fourth and ahead of compatriot Aysha Abdulla (1.5) who came fifth, while Abeer Rajab (0.5), also of Bahrain, was sixth. The last rounds were attended by Bahrain Mind Sports Association president Adel Al Asoomi who honoured the winners in both categories in presence of the UAE and Arab Chess Federations president Ibrahim Al Bannai and other officials. Success Al Asoomi thanked the players for taking part in this prestigious competition and hailed the efforts of the organisers in making this event a success. Al Asoomi also expressed appreciation to the General Organisation for Youth and Sports president Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa for his continuous support to the association programmes. The week-long tournament got underway with 10 men and six women players from West Asian countries competing in this championsip with the women's event played in a double round robin format.