DHARAMSHALA, May 30: A Tibetan teenage girl is all set to rub shoulders with grandmasters from all over the world at the upcoming 40th Chess Olympiad in Turkey.

Emma Dolma Guo (Yuthok), 17, a resident of Canberra has been selected in the five-member team representing Australia at the biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other.

The last edition on the Olympiad held in Russia in 2010 had teams from 141 chess federations vying for the main honours. A total of 1,306 chess players had participated, including 242 Grandmasters and 118 International Masters.

A college student, Emma Dolma currently holds the title of a Woman International Master, the second highest ranking title given by the World Chess Federation after the Woman Grandmaster.

She earned her title in December 2011, when she won the Oceania Women’s Championships in Rotorua, New Zealand.

Speaking to reporters earlier this month, Emma had expressed hopes of improving her performance and earning the title of a Woman Grandmaster.

“I like the adrenalin rush that I get when I play ... I am hoping to improve my rating and hopefully become a grand master.”

The Tibetan chess prodigy began learning the game from her bother Sherab at the young age of six. Since then, Emma has competed at various international events in Argentina, Brazil, China, Malaysia, India, Russia, Singapore, Poland, and New Zealand.

Earlier this month, the Dharamshala based Central Tibetan Administration signed an agreement with the World Chess Federation, recognising chess as a universal tool to reinforce the capabilities of Tibetan children for a better schooling life.

World Chess Federation President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the former president of Russia’s Kalmykia Republic visited the Tibetan exile headquarters and signed the agreement with Kalon Tripa Dr Lobsang Sangay.

Under the agreement, CTA will introduce the development and promotion of chess in the Tibetan education system, as part of the mutual incentive-programme ‘Chess in Schools’ – a purposed-oriented educational programme.