February 14, 2002	Thursday	Zilhaj 1, 1422

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KARACHI, Feb 13: Haseeb Ahmed securing eight out of nine points lifted the Jameeluddin Memorial Chess Crown, after the top contender offered a draw to his opponent Hassan Tariq on the first board at the Karachi Chess Academy, Nazimabad on Wednesday.

Hassan Tariq lying ninth on the table accepted the draw proposal without any hesitation to earn half a point.

With this draw in the last match, Haseeb safely landed the trophy, while Hassan finished joint eighth with three other players.

At the second board, Asad Rampuri lying second with seven points was in for a surprise against Imtiaz Ahmed lying sixth with 5.5 points.

Continuing to play recklessly with unsound moves, Asad paid the penalty but managed to cling on to the second berth. Imtiaz’s great win enabled him to finish in the third spot.

In another exciting encounter, young college student Fraz Saleem surprised another upcoming youngster Shakir Hussain. Fraz cashed on Shakir’s carelessness, snatching a vital point to help him climb higher up the ladder to share the fifth spot with Shakir, Akhtar Hussain and Shafiq ur Rehman.

Following is the final standing.

Haseeb Ahmed eight points 1, Asad Rampuri seven points 2, Imtiaz Ahmed 6.5 points 3. Ashfaq Khan , Faraz Saleem and Yaseen Qureshi with 6 points each 4. Akhtar Hussain, Shakir Hussain, Hasan Tariq and Shafiq ur Rehman with each with 5.5 points apiece 8th. Riasat Ali Nazim, Mirza Munawar Baig Muhammad Rafiq, Mehmood ul Islam and Azeem Barlas each with five points shared the 15th spot.