NEW DELHI: The lack of quality opposition in the upcoming Commonwealth chess championship in Mumbai has indeed made it easier for Nigel Short to defend the title.

The field includes 12 Grandmasters, comprising eight from India, two from Bangladesh and one each from England and Singapore. There will be 25 International Masters and eight Woman Grandmasters in the midst of host of norm-seekers when the 10-round event commences on November 20.

However, the field is without K. Sasikiran, P. Hari Krishna and last edition's woman champion K. Humpy as the trio will be attending a preparatory camp under twice Soviet Union champion Lev Psakhis in Chennai ahead of the Asian Games in Doha.

Aware of vagaries

"Looking at the field, I can say that I'll be expected to win quite easily. But I am aware of the vagaries of any competition played under the Swiss system (a format where, as far as possible, players of equal number of points are made to play each other). Among the people who have chances to win the title, I'll naturally start with the maximum percentage. I have won several strong events in my career but I am keen to retain the Commonwealth title," said the British GM, who became the President of the Commonwealth Chess Federation in Turin in June this year.

Short is ranked 29th in the world with a rating of 2677, way below his career-best 2712 in April 2004. In the four competitions this year, Short was tied-second at Gibraltar, won the European Union title, remained undefeated with five wins for England in the Olympiad and tied for the title in Politikan Cup.

Job made easier

When Short landed here to hold training sessions for GM Parimarjan Negi, he was expecting Sasikiran and Hari in the field. Their absence, coupled with the last-minute withdrawal of Canadian GM Kevin Spraggett (2610) has indeed made it easier for Short to defend the title he won in Mumbai in January 2004.

This year, apart from Short, the 11 other GMs in the fray are, Surya Shekhar Ganguly (2573), Sandipan Chanda (2550), Ziaur Rehman (Bangladesh, 2544), Abhijit Kunte (2524), Deepan Chakkavarthy (2501), R.B. Ramesh (2491), Neelotpal Das (2490), Wu Shaobin (Singapore, 2475), Dibyendu Barua (2471), Niaz Murshed (Bangladesh 2461) and Tejas Bakre (2447).

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail