Harika Wins Zonal At Dhaka
By Arvind Aaron

WGM Dronavalli Harika of Guntur in Andhra Pradesh won the Asian Zone 3.2 Women's Chess Championship that concluded at Dhaka on August 30. She scored seven points by defeating Swati Ghate in the tenth round for the title. Swati Ghate of Pune finished second with six points. National champion Tania Sachdev of Delhi took the third place with 5.5. India dominated this event and picked up the lone seat for the World Cup.

In the men's event, four time Indian champion Surya Ganguly of Indian Oil, Kolkata and G.N.Gopal of Aluva, Kerala are in lead with 8/10 with one round still to be played on August 31. Gopal has made a 10-game GM Norm and Gogineni Rohit has obtained a nine-game GM norm according Dhaka sources. The event is in progress at the NSC Conference Room in Dhaka.