LAHORE, May29: National Master Tanvir Gillani (Wapda) with nine points reclaimed the title after 11 years when he held Shahzad Alam to a draw in the final round of the 24th National chess championship at a local hotel on Saturday. The reigning champion for the last 11 years, the International Master Mahmood Lodhi was relegated to second position.

There was a tie for the crown among the quartet of Tanvir, Mahmood, National Masters Amir Karim and Zohaib Gillani when they entered the final round.

Tanvir, who was the leader at the end of the 10th round with eight and a half points added half points for playing a draw against Shahzad.

Tanvir had four draws and seven wins to win the title which he had lost to Lodhi in 1992.

Lodhi could have won the title again but he also played a drawn game against rather easy rival Zohaib Gillani to gain the second spot with eight and half points.

But International Master Shahzad Mirza's victory against Amir Karim, who was in great form and was considering as main threat for Tanvir swung the situation in favour of the latter.

Shahzad had only seven points and he was not a candidate for the top slot while Amir was playing against him with eight points and a win could have posed a challenge to the leader.

But Shahzad, a seasoned player, who went down to fifth position with eight points, did not allow Amir to create any hurdle for Tanvir.

Besides Shahzad, the other five who captured the first eight position had eight points each and the decision to decide their position was taken on Opponent Winning Point system.

After winning the title Tanvir said that his victory brought a change for good which it always is.

Tanveer, besides the cup also received a cash prize of Rs 50,000.

Lodhi admitted that he had lost all hopes for the title when he ended in a draw in the 10th round on Friday night, but he was happy over the commencement of the national event after a long period of five years.

Lodhi got Rs 25,000 for the runners-up position.

The cash prizes to the tune of Rs 113,000 were given among the top eight players.

The most impressive performance was shown by Amjad Hafeez Bajwa from Punjab who emerged as new National Master in the championship by taking the sixth spot. He is a lone player who earned the feat.

Another player who caught the eyes is Shahzad who not only held the new champion Tanvir to a draw but remained unbeatenwith seven draws and four wins.

The top six players of the championships are entitled to take part in the Olympiad to be held in Spain this year.

For the first time in the history of the game, the points scored by the players in this championship will increase their international ranking.

Following are the top eight players: Tanvir Gillani (nine points), Mahmood Lodhi (8.5 points), Amir Karim (eight points), Haseeb Ahmed (eight points), Shahzad Mirza (eight points), Amjad Hafeez Bajwa (eight points), Zohaib Gillani (eight points), Muhammad Waqar (eight points).

Following are the results of the top eight players. Tanvir Gillani (nine point) drew to Shahzad Alam (seven points); Mahmood Lodhi (8.5 points) drew to Zohaib Gilani ( 7 1/2 points); Amir Karim (eight points) lost to Shahzad Mirza (eight points); Haseeb Ahmad (eight points) lost to Muhammad Waqar (eight points); Shahzad Mirza (eight points) beat Amir Karim (eight points); Amjad Hafeez Bajwa (eight points) beat Raees Ahmad Ansari(seven points). Zohaib Gillani (played against Mahmood Lodhi) and Muhammad Waqar (against Haseeb Ahmad) took the 7th and the 8th spots. The other winners of the 11th round are: Imran Naeem Khilji, Fauzanullah, Hassan Tariq, Syed Zarar Ali, Dr. Noorul Huda, Shafiq Junior, Wahab Ahmad, Shahab Ahmad, Riaz- ul-Hassan Zaidi, Dr Shafqat Rana, Shahkir Hussain, Muhammad Ayub, Azhar Javed, Noman Mustafa, Aziz Farooqi, Riasat Ali Nazim, Akmal Husain, Riaz Khan, Asadullah Khan, Asifur Rehman, Anwar Qureshi.