12-year-old girl set to represent Pakistan at World Chess Olympiad

Mehak Gul, 12, will leave for Istanbul this Monday as part of a ten-member team.

LAHORE: Mehak Gul, 12, is all set to leave for Istanbul this Monday as part of a ten-member team which will represent Pakistan at the World Chess Olympiad. Gul claims to be the youngest person ever to represent Pakistan in the tournament.

Gul, who has been playing chess since the age of six, came into the limelight after she succeeded in securing positions at provincial and national chess championships.

She was third at the Punjab Chess Championship in June this year and fifth at the National Chess Championship held in Karachi, helping her qualify for the team which would represent Pakistan at the world championship.

Her father and coach, Mohammad Zahid, has said that she is the youngest person to have qualified for the Olympiad from Pakistan. The previous person was a 15-year-old girl from Karachi.

The young chess champion aims to become a Grandmaster, a title conferred by the World Chess Federation.

Gul is the only member of the Pakistan women's national team who hails from Lahore, with the rest being from Karachi.

The world olympiad is a biannual event which is going to be held in Istanbul from August 27 to September 10, and will host players from more than 160 countries.