MUMBAI, NOV 5: Eleven rated players and ten berths for the National A championships at stake. This is a brief before battle begins in the Women's National B chess championships being hosted at the SNDT Women's University Complex from tomorrow.

With younger players challenging the old guards, the National B serves the dual purpose of providing the country with talent and giving youngsters the feel of competition. Among the contestants are one Women's Fide Master and three Women's International Masters.

Saheli Dhar-Barua, Women's Fide Master who also has a Women's Grandmasters' norm, will be the top seed as she is the top-rated player (2225 Elo) for the National B. She is followed by Sarita Reddy, an IWM rated 2215 and Bhagyashree Thipsay (2210). On a broad perspective, it looks easy for the 11 rated players fighting for 10 berths.

But as this nine-round tournament unfolds over the next nine days, it remains to be seen how many rated players play true to their ability. A few players had even participated in the tougher men's National B Championships at Calicut recently and among them, Swati Mohota (2135) of West Bengal had done well in the initial rounds.

If the top three -- Saheli, Sarita and Bhagyashree -- are eyeing the title, there are a few youngsters who are hoping for a breakthrough. West Bengal's Swati Mohota (2135), who played the tougher men's National B Championships at Calicut recently, did well in the first few rounds there before the competition got the better of her.

Bhagyashree, who has been recovering from a long illness, used the Calicut experience to test her strength.

Nivedita Sagade (2025) of Maharashtra and Nisha Mohota (2080) of West Bengal had participated in the Asian Junior championships at Jaipur recently. Sagade, for her rankings, did well to finish seventh. She is also the runner-up in the National Junior championships won by the talented S Vijayalakshmi.

Nisha, who was the youngest to gain the IWM status at 14, has had a slump in fortunes lately. With a strong performance in the Jaipur event, she finished ninth, which is low by her standards but she should be hoping to do well.But in the back of everybody's mind will only be the qualifying effort -- the struggle to finish among the top ten.