Indian 'Knights' have to be wary of 'Chinese Dragon' at Asiad

Chennai, Nov 28 (UNI) The Indian trio of Grandmasters Krishnan Sashikiran, Pentyala Harikrishna and Koneru Humpy, would have to be wary of the 'Dragon variation', so to speak, as by their own admission China would be their main rival in the fight for Gold at the Doha Asian Games from December 1, where chess would be making its debut as a medal sport.

Addressing a press conference on the eve of the Indian chess contingent's departure to Mumbai early tomorrow enroute to Doha, the trio who had a short duration coaching camp with trainer Lev P Sakish said the team was cofident of performing well with Sakish emphasising that the team would definitely come back with medals.

''The Indian team is strong. I hope we will get the first place'', the Russian GM residing in Israel said.

Commenting on the benefits of the camp, Humpy said one of her weak points had been her end game. ''I thought I was weak in the end games. But Sakish made me study several end games. I am more confident now'', Humpy, the world no 2 among women and No 5 among men said.

Asked if the team was confident about living upto Sakish's expectations of finishing second or first, the trio said ''it all depends on how strong we play on that day. You can't foresee what we are going to get there'', Sasikiran added.

They said China, Qatar and Uzbekistan will be the strong contenders along with India among the 22 countries which will be competing in Chess in the Doha Asiad.

Competitions will be held in Rapid-Men and Women and Classical chess with a total of nine medals at stake, All India Chess Federation (AICF) Secretary D V Sundar said, adding, the trio had put through strenuous preparation at the camp which began on November 18 and ended this afternoon.

India's former national champion and first IM Manuel Aaron will be accompanying the team as the coach.

Sundar said the AICF was confident that Chess would help India gain more medals in the Asian Games. This would pave way for the organising committee of the Commonwealth Games 2010 in New Delhi to include chess as a medal sport, he added. He said in the Doha Asiad, the Rapid events would be held between December 2 to 4 and the Classical event from December 6 to 14.

Indian chess team's new trainer Psakis, was also present at the Press Conference.

Psakis, who has played in eight Chess Olympiads from 1990 to 2002, most of which on the top board with players like Vladimir Kramnik, V Anand and G Kasparov, has also worked with top players in the world like Kasparov, Artur Yusupov, and Judith Polgar.

''The benefits of the camp for Doha Asiad would be reflected in the performance of the three players at Doha and later in the coming months,'' Sundar added.

UNI