the Asian Zone 3.2 Chess Championship is scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka from March 21 to 29. -File Photo

KARACHI: Pakistan's highest ever rated chess star International Master, Mahmood Ahmed Lodhi will take part in the Asian Zone 3.2 Chess Championship scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka from March 21 to 29.

The event will serve as the qualifying rounds for the World Chess Championship.

12-time reigning national champion Lodhi said that his main objective in the coming months will be to attain the Grand Masters title.

“My mission in the Asian Zonal event will be to qualify for the World Chess Championship which opens the doors for achieving my goals,” he said.

“I am preparing hard for the Asian event and going through six hour training sessions regularly,” he said.

Lodhi said last year's participation in the Chess Olympiad in Russia and International Championship in Yemen helped him improve as he played with five GMs from Central Asian Republics.

“Though I played a couple of draws and lost the other matches, it was a grand experience,” he said.

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