KARACHI, April 28: Fortunes fluctuate in every match but not as quickly as witnessed in a round nine chess match held on Monday between two leading contenders in the 26th National Chess Championship, now in its last stages.

Amir Karim, who only the evening before had upset top seed Mahmood Lodhi to gain the lead by a mere ½ point, was humbled and outclassed by M. Waqar in a crucial match that lasted three hours.

More euphoric and jubilant about Waqar’s victory was Lodhi himself who by virtue of Waqar’s brilliant win and his own win against Khalil-ur-Rehman in round nine, has revived his own hopes as he has regained the lead over Amir Karim by ½ point.

During the intial stages of the match Waqar offered a draw to Amir but he refused, feeling confident about securing victory.

Waqar, who has the honour of drawing with the Indian Grand Master Vishvanath Anand in 1985 was elated with his victory although he lags two points behind the leader but is sure to make it to the last three.

Speaking to Dawn later, Waqar attributed his win to sheer concentration, will power and discipline. “I had offered a draw to Amir but when he refused and erred, I took full advantage of the situation.”

The 43-year-old Waqar, a businessman by profession, has won the London Open (Barbican) twice and was Asian No 3 in 1984.

In other matches played in round nine, Imtiaz Ahmed beat Dr Haroon while Waseem Akram defeated Riasat Ali.

Lodhi, with his hopes revived, defeated Imtiaz Ahmed in the afternoon session in round 10 to surge ahead with 9 points.

The final round 11 will be played on Tuesday with Lodhi almost certain to win unless fortunes suddenly fluctuate again.

Results:

Round 8: Amir Karim bt Wahid Hussain, IM Mahmood Lodhi bt Gulrez Nazir, Khalil-ur-Rehman bt Haseeb Ahmed, M Waqar bt M Shafeeq Sr, Dr Haroon bt M Shahzad, Riasat Ali Khan bt Faraz Salim, Imtiaz Ahmed bt M Shafiq, Waseem Akram bt Jahangir Ahmed, Akhter Hussain drew Noman Mustafa, Asad Rampuri drew Fauzanullah, Raees Ansari bt bt Muddasir Iqbal, Waqar Madni bt M Younus, Abdul Majid bt Nadeem Aziz, Hafeezur-Rehman bt Abdul Qadir.

Round 9: M Waqar bt Amir Karim, Mehmood Lodhi bt Khalilur Rehman, Imtiaz Ahmed bt Dr Haroon, Waseem Akram bt Riasat Ali, Gulrez Nazir bt Wahid Hussain, Haseeb Ahmad bt Hafeez ur Rehman, M Shafiq drew Waqar Madni, Faraz Salim bt Akhter Hussain, Asad Rampuri drew M Shafiq Sr, Wahab Ahmed drew Ayub, Aziz Faruqui bt Fauzanullah, M Shahzad bt Noman Mustafa, Ali Madad bt Mudassir Iqbal.

Points Table (after Round 9)

Mahmood Lodhi (8), Amir Karim (7.5), M Waqar (7), Imtiaz Ahmed (7), Raees Ansari (6.5), Wasim Akram (6.5), Haseeb Ahmed (6), M Shahzad (6), Gulrez Nazir (6), Waqar Madni (5.5), Shahzad Ahmed (5.5), Ali Madad (5.5), M Shafiq (5.5), Ayub (5.5), Asad Rampuri (5.5).