Women International Master Shamima Akter Liza of Narayanganj became a three-time champion of the Sultana Kamal 34th National Women Chess Championship on Tuesday at the Bangladesh Chess Federation hall. Liza earned nine points from 11 games to clinch the national women’s title. She was also the champion in 2005 and 2010. Liza beat Mahmuda Hoque Chowdhury Moly in her last game to clinch the title. She won nine matches and lost two – to Nazrana Khan Eva and Tanima Parveen – in the competition.
Eva of Manikganj went unbeaten to finish as runner-up with 8.5 points from six wins and five draws. Eva drew with Tanima Parveen in the last round. WIM Rani Hamid of Titas Club finished third courtesy a play-off victory against WFM Zakia Sultana of Narayanganj after both finished with eight points.
Last year’s champion Sharmin Sultana Shairin finished fifth with 7.5 points, while WFM Tanima Parveen’s comeback after five years saw her finish in sixth with seven points.
After clinching the title, Liza admitted that she was a little nervous before her last match.
‘The National Championship is always competitive, and this time it was more competitive because many quality players participated. So I was feeling a little bit pressure before playing the last match,’ said Liza.
‘I lost two matches but I got back on track nicely. It makes me happy, and this performance will help me perform better in the coming days,’ she added.
-With New Age input
