Mary Ann Gomes on her Olympiad

From The Telegraph (Calcutta) A long way to go: Mary A STAFF REPORTER November 28, 2008 Calcutta: Mary Ann Gomes is happy with her performance in the chess Olympiad in Dresden. The Calcutta girl won a silver after scoring six out of eight points and a performance rating of 2437 in the championship. “This was my second Olympiad. I performed quite well and am happy with my showing,” she said after returning to the city on Thursday. The WGM, a product of The Telegraph Schools’ Chess Championship, said her experience made the difference this time. “I was very tense in my first Olympiad in 2006. But this time I concentrated on my natural game. Moreover, two coaching camps organised by the AICF in the lead up to the tournament also helped,” she said. The performance, however, hasn’t left her complacent. “This is just the beginning… I still have a long way to go. This year I completed my WGM. Now I am aiming for the men’s IM norm and then the GM,” Mary Ann, who has an Elo rating of 2298, said. She, though, will improve her ratings by 21 points by virtue of her performance — five wins, two draws and a loss — in the Olympiad. “The competition was very tough. All top teams played and it helped me a lot… I think my penultimate round performance was the best in the competition. It was a near flawless game and my moves were perfect,” she recalled. She also plans to work on her shortcomings with Dibyendu Barua. “I’ve got to work on my openings. The strategic play also needs improvement,” she pointed out.