Chess
Int'l Rating Chess: CM Manon Reja Neer takes solo lead
Candidate Master Manon Reja Neer of Uttara Central Chess Club took the sole lead in the points table securing 4.5 points after the 5th round matches of the Marcel Invitational International Rating Chess Tournament now being held at the Bangladesh Chess Federation Hall-room here on Saturday.
Five Players share the 2nd position with 4 points each.
They are: International Master Mohammad Minhaz Uddin, FIDE Master Sheikh Nasir Ahmed & Candidate Master Md. Sharif Hossain of Bangladesh Navy, FIDE Master Syed Mahfuzur Rahman of Janata Bank Officer Welfare Society and Shafiq Ahmed of Sheikh Russel Chess Club.
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Seven other players share the 3rd position with 3.5 points each.
They are: FIDE Master Khandaker Aminul and FIDE Master Mohammad Javed, Anata Choudhury of Rupali Bank Krira Parisad, Jabed Al Azad of Manha’s Castle, Candidate Master Mohammad Jamal Uddin of Sultana Kamal Smirity Pathagar Md. Sariatullah & Md. Nasim Hossain Bhuiyan of Sonali Bank Sports & Recreation Club.
In the day's 5th round games, CM Neer beat FM Nasir, IM Minhaz beat CM Jamal, Jabed drew with Anata, FM Aminul drew with Sariatullah, CM Sharif beat Md. Masum Hossain, FM Mahfuz beat Kazi Zarin Tasnim, Shafiq beat Md. Ariful Amin, FM Javed beat Din Mohammad, Nasim beat Md. Sajidul Haque and Md. Abzid Rahman beat SwarnavoChoudhury.
The 6th round games will be held on Sunday from 2-00 pm at the same venue.
Int'l Rating Chess: 13 players hold onto solo lead
Thirteen players maintained their solo lead in the Walton International Rating Chess Tournament, securing full three points after the third round matches held in the capital Wednesday.
The leaders are GMs Ziaur Rahman, Enamul Hossain Razib; IM Mohammad Minhaz Uddin, FMs Mehdi Hasan Parag, Khandekar Aminul Islam, Mohammad Javed, Sheikh Nasir Ahmed; CMs Md Sharif Hossain, Sadnan Hasan Dihan, Manon Reja Neer, Md Shawket Bin Osman Shaon, Jabed Al Azad and Md Aminul Islam.
Also read: Int'l Rating Chess: 30 players share top slot after second round of games
IM Mohammad Fahad Rahman, WFM Noshin Anjum, Sakline Mostafa Sajid, Md Abzid Rahman, Avik Sarker and Asif Mahmud are sharing the second position with 2.5 points each.
In the day's matches at the Bangladesh Chess Federation and Old National Sports Council Building, GM Zia beat CM Mahtabuddin Ahmed, GM Razib beat FM Md Saif Uddin, Sakline drew with IM Fahad, and IM Mimhaz beat Md Gazi Salah Uddin.
Also, FM Parag beat Mohammed Shaker Ullah, FM Amin beat Mukitul Islam Ripon, CM Sharif beat Dewan Shahidul Amin, and FM Nasir beat Feroz Ahmed.
And CM Dihan beat Md Azmaeen Parvez Sayor, CM Neer beat Nurul Islam Emon, FM Mahfuz beat Md Aminul Islam, FM Javed beat Md Ruhul Amin, CM Shaon beat Md Raju Ahmed, Jabed beat Md Shawkat Ali Sheikh, WFM Noshin beat Gias Uddin, Abzid beat Wadifa Ahmed, Avik beat Abdul Momin, and Asif beat Md Mahbubur Rahman.
Also read: International Rating Chess tournament underway in Dhaka
The fourth round matches will be held Thursday at 2pm at the same venue.
Int'l Rating Chess: 30 players share top slot after second round of games
Thirty players sharing the top slot in the points table securing full two points after the 2nd round matches of the Walton International Rating Chess Tournament-2022, now being held at Bangladesh Chess Federation hall-room and conference room of National Sports council here on Tuesday.
The leaders are: GM Ziaur Rahman, GM Enamul Hossain Razib, IM Mohammad Fahad Rahman, IM Mohammad Minhaz Uddin, FM Mehdi Hasan Parag, FM Khandekar Aminul Islam, CM Md. Sharif Hossain, FM Sheikh Nasir Ahmed, CM Sadnan Hasan Dihan, CM Manon Reja Neer, FM Syed Mahfuzur Rahman, FM Mohammad Javed, CM Md Shawket Bin Osman Shaon, Jabed Al Azad, CM Mahtabuddin Ahmed, Sakline Mostafa Sajid, Md. Gazi Salah Uddin, Md Shawkat Ali Sheikh, Md. Ruhul Amin, Mohammed Shaker Ullah, Mukitul Islam Ripon, FM Md Saif Uddin, Dewan Shahidul Amin, Feroz Ahmed, Md. Aminul Islam, Md. Azmaeen Parvez Sayor, Md. Raju Ahmed, Nurul Islam Emon and Gias Uddin.
READ: International Rating Chess tournament underway in Dhaka
In the day's 2nd round matches, GM Zia beat Zahirul, GM Razib beat Rashedul, IM Fahad beat Shahnaz, IM Minhaz beat Nasir Uddin, FM Parag got walk-over against Neloy, FM Amin beat Raison, CM Sharif beat Hasan Mia, FM Nasir beat Anis Mallick, CM Dihan beat Anisur rahman, CM Neer beat Nazre Mowla, FM Mahfuz beat Masud, FM Javed beat Din Mohammad, CM Shaon beat Jewel Khan, Jabed beat Asif, CM Mahtab beat Afzal, Sajid beat Monir, Gazi beat Sohel, Shawkat beat Sariatullah, Ruhul beat Ariful, Shaker beat Abijit, Ripon beat Shamsul, FM Saif beat Hasan, Shahidul beat Walid,, Feroz beat Faysal, Aminul beat Amirul, Sayor beat Jewel Hossain, Raju beat Mahbubur, Emon beat F. A Chowdhury and Gias beat Nasim.
The 3rd round games will be held tomorrow (Wednesday) from 2:00 PM at the same venues.
International Rating Chess tournament underway in Dhaka
The Walton International Rating Chess Tournament-2022, sponsored by Walton Hi-Tech Industries and organised by Bangladesh Chess Federation, began on Monday at Bangladesh Chess Federation hall-room and the conference room of National Sports council here.
Earlier, Senior Executive Director of Walton Hi-Tech Industries FM Iqbal Bin Anwar inaugurated the event as chief guest.
Vice-President of Bangladesh Chess Federation KM Shahidullah presided over the ceremony where Syed Shahab Uddin Shamim, General Secretary of Bangladesh Chess Federation was present as special guest. International Arbiter Md Haroon Or Rashid and Sajol Mahmud, Executive Member of Bangladesh Chess Federation also spoke on the occasion.
A total of 137 players including GM Ziaur Rahman, GM Enamul Hossain Razib, IM Mohammad Fahad Rahman, IM Mohammad Minhaz Uddin, FM Mehdi Hasan Parag, FM Khandekar Aminul Islam, FM Sheikh Nasir Ahmed, FM Syed Mahfuzur Rahman, FM Mohammad Javed and FM Md Saif Uddin are taking part in the meet.
READ: Bangabandhu's birthday: BCF to organise rapid chess competition for children Thursday
Sixty Six players won their 1st round game and earned one point each.
In the 1st round matches, GM Zia beat Al Shahid, GM Razib beat Saif, IM Fahad beat Maleq, IM Minhaz beat Monir, FM Parag beat Alo, CM Sharif beat Mridul, FM Nasir beat Faruk, CM Dihan beat Osman, CM Neer beat Rezwan, WFM Noshin beat Rashid and Khushbu drew with Abzid.
The event is being held on a 9- round Swiss League system. The winners of the event will be awarded a total two lac taka cash prize money and Walton gift hampers.
The 2nd round games will be tomorrow (Tuesday) from 2:00 PM at the same both venues.
MoFA hosts Sheikh Russel Rapid Chess Tournament
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and Grand Master Niaz Murshed played a friendly match on Saturday while inaugurating the daylong Sheikh Russel Memorial Rapid Chess Tournament 2021.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with Bangladesh Chess Federation, organised the tournament at the Foreign Service Academy as part of its greater observance of the upcoming Sheikh Russel Dibash.
Dr Momen joined the programme as the chief guest while Foreign Secretary (Senior Secretary) Masud Bin Momen attended it as the guest of honour.
General Secretary of Bangladesh Chess Federation Syed Shahab Uddin Shamim, Grand Master Niaz Murshed and Grand Master Ziaur Rahman were present as special guests.
Chess: Belgium’s GM Vadim Malakhatko takes solo lead
Grand Master Vadim Malakhatko of Belgium took solo lead in the Year Long 2nd GM Chess Tournament securing three points after the 4th round matches held at Media Centre of Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) here on Wednesday.
GM Alexander Zubarev of Ukraine and IM Aronyak Ghosh of India are in the 2nd position jointly with 2.5 points each.
In the day’s 4th round, GM Malakhatko beat Sanket Chakravarty, IM Mohammad Fahad Rahman beat Anata Choudhury, GM Zubarev drew with IM Kaustav Chatterjee of India, IM Aronyak drew with GM Azer Mirzoev of Azerbaijan and IM Asyl Abdijapar of Kyrgyzstan beat and IM Neelash Saha of India.
Read: JPC Chess:Shahzad Mahmud emerges champion, Rafiqul Islam runners-up
In the Year Long 2nd International Masters Chess Tournament, IM Mohammad Nubairshah Shaikh of India is leading the point table, securing full four points after the 4th round matches on Wednesday.
CM Md Sharif Hossain and GM Alexey Kislinisky of Czech Republic are jointly in the 2nd position with 3 points each.
Read: GM Chess:Indian IM AronykGhoshm,NeelshSahamaintain joint lead
In the 4th round games, IM Nubairshah beat Swarnavo Choudhury, GM Alexey Kislinisky beat CM Sharif, IM Mahmood Lodhi of Pakistan beat FM Khandekar Aminul Islam, Sourath Biswas beat FM Sheikh Nasir Ahmed, FM Md Taibur Rahman beat CM Tahsin Tajwar Zia.
The 5th round matches of both the Year Long 2nd GM Chess Tournament and Year Long 2nd IM Chess Tournaments will be held on Thursday (Oct 14) at the same venue.
Sheikh Hasina GM Chess: Indian IM Mitrabha Guha takes solo lead
Indian IM Mitrabha Guha took solo lead in the Joytu Sheikh Hasina International Grandmasters Chess Tournament’2021 securing full 4 points each after 4th round games held at Aarokanon Ballroom in Hotel 71 here on Wednesday,
Another Indian IM Koustav Chatterjee are jointly in the 2nd position with 3.5 points each.
Bangladesh Chess Federation with financial assistance of Canadian University of Bangladesh organised the tournament to mark the 75th birthday of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Seven players are sharing 3rd position with 3 points each. They are: GM Ziaur Rahman and FM Debaraj Chatterjee of Bangladesh, GM Andrey Sumets of Ukraine, IM Aronyak Ghosh, IM Sanklap Gupta and IM Sayantan Das of India.
Read: Sheikh Hasina Intl Chess Tournament begins Sunday
In the day’s 4th round matches, IM Mitrabha beat IM Sayantan, IM Nubairshah drew with GM Sumets, IM Aronyk drew with GM Zia, IM Kaustav beat IM Sammed Joykumar Shety, IM Sankalp beat GM Alexy Kislinsky of Chez Republic, Sourath Biswas drew with GM Deep Sengupta, IM Abu Sufian Shakil drew with GM Vadim Malakhatko of Belgium, FM Debaraj beat IM Neelash Saha, FM Sk. Nasir Ahmed drew with GM Alexander Zubarev of Ukraine, WIM Arpita drew with GM Enamul Hossain, IM Srijit beat CM Sohel Chowdhury, CM Tahsin Tajwar Zia drew with GM Ghaem Ehsan Maghami of Iran, GM Mosadeghpour Masoud of Iran beat CM Liyanage Ranindu Dilshan of Sri Lanka, Shafiq Ahmed beat IM Asyl Abdyjapar of Kyrgyzstan, IM Mohammad Fahad Rahman beat FM Mehdi Hasan Parag, FM Md Taibur Rahman beat IM Mahmood Lodhi, Subhayan Kundu beat CM Md. Sharif Hossain, CM Sadanan Hasan Dihan drew with FM Subrota Biswas, Sanket Chakravarty beat WFM Noshin Anjum, FM Piyumantha Sasith Nipun beat Swarnavo Choudhury, IM Mohammad Minhaz Uddin beat CM Nayem Haque, Sakline Mostafa Sajid beat Anata Choudhury, Showkat Hossain Pollab beat CM Manon Reja Neer, CM Chanchal Kumar Ghosh beat Kazi Zarin Tasnim, CM Md Jamal Uddin beat wCM Jannatul Ferdous, WCM Ahmed Walijah drew with FM Syed Mahfuzur Rahman, FM Md Saif Uddin Lavlu drew with Jabed Al Azad, Mohammad Shameem beat Wadifa Ahmed, Mortuza Mahathir Islam drew with Delwar Hossain and Md Sariatullah drew with Marzouq Chowdhury..
The 5th round games will be held on Thursday from 3:00 pm at same venue.
Prizes of Sheikh Kamal Int'l Chess distributed
Prizes of the Shahid Captain Sheikh Kamal Invitational International Online Chess Tournament' 2021, distributed at a function at Sky Ball-Room of Hotel La Meridian Monday night.
Bangladesh Chess Federation (BCF) organized the tournament on the occasion of the 72nd birth anniversary of the Shahid Sheikh Kamal, the eldest son of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, under the financial support of SAIF Piwertech Ltd.
State Minister for Youth Sports Md. Zahid Ahsan Russell, MP was the chief guest at the function and distributed the prizes to the winners of Bangladesh and gave virtual prizes to the foreign recepiants.
Dr. Benzir Ahmed, Inspector General of Police and Presidents of BCF and South Asian Chess Council, and Tarafdar Md. Ruhul Amin, Managing Director of the meet's sponsor SAIF Powertech Limited and Vice President of BCF were also present as special guests.
Syed Shahab Uddin Shamim, General Secretary of Bangladesh Chess Federation and President of FIDE Zone 3.2 and Mr. Abundo Casto, Executive Director of Asian Chess Federation also spoke on the occasion.
In the tournament, Chinese Grand Master Li Di became unbeaten champion securing 8 points from 9 matches. Indian Grandmaster Abhimanyu Puranik become the runner-up with seven and a half points.
Five players scored six and a half points each, in tie-breaking system GM Karthik Venkataraman of India became third, GM Amin M Tabatabaei of Iran finished fourth, GM Vadislav Kovalev of Belarus became fifth, GM Shyam Sundar of India became 6th and GM Maksoodloo Parham of Iran became 7th, IM Ali Muhammad Lutfi of Indonesia became 8th, IM Murzin Volodar of Russia became 9th, Xu Yinglun of China became 10th, IM Garcia Jan Emmanuel of Philippine finished 11th in the tiebreaker.
Read: Asian School Chess: Bangladesh's Khusbu emerges top and unbeaten
Among the Bangladeshi players, GM Reefat Bin Sattar clinched the top slot collecting 6 points from 9 games, GM Enamul Hossain Razib became second, IM Mohammad Fahad Rahman became third and GM Ziaur Rahman became 4th with five and half points .
CM Tahsin Tajwar Zia finished fifth and Shawkat Hossain Pallab became sixth with five points each. Sakline Mostafa Sajid won the special boys award and WIM Noshin Anjum won the special girls award.
Champion GM Li Di received two thousand US dollars, runner-up GM Abhimanyu Puranik received fifteen hundred us dollars, third GM Karthik Venkataraman received one thousand US dollars, fourth GM Amin Tabatabaei received six hundred US dollars, fifth GM Vladislav Kovalev received Five hundred US dollars, Sixth GM Shyam Sundar received four hundred US dollars, Seventh GM Maksoodloo Parham received four hundred US dollars, Eighth to tenth IM Ali Muhammad Lutfi, IM Murzin Volodar and GM Xu Yinglun received three hundred US dollars each, while IM Garcia Jane Emanuel Philippines, received a prize of two hundred US dollars as eleven prize .
GM Reefat Bin Sattar received 800 US dollars, GM Enamul Hossain Razib received 600 US dollars, 3rd IM Mohammad Fahad Rahman received 400 US dollars, 4th GM Ziaur Rahman received 300 US dollars, 5th CM Tahsin Tajwar Zia and 6th Shawkat Hossain Pallab each received two hundred US dollars, and as a special prize Sakline Mostafa Sajid and WFM Noshin Anjum received ten thousand taka each.
A total of ten thousand US dollars distributed among the winners
In all 80 players, including 21 Grand Masters and 13 International Masters from 15 countries, took part in the three-day 9-round Swiss-League basis event.
Asian Chess: GM Niaz, Enamul share 3rd position
Bangladesh's GM Niaz Murshed and GM Enamul Hossain shared the 3rd position along with 14 other players, securing two and a half points each after the 4th round matches of the Asian Continental Individual Chess Championship 2021 Monday.
The other Bangladeshi players, IM Abu Sufian Shakil and IM Mohammad Farhad Rahman earned two points each while FM Subrota Biswas earned one and a half points.
The ongoing Hybrid Chess is also an event to qualify for the FIDE World Chess 2021.
Read: Prizes of 1st Division Chess League’ 21 handed over
In the day's 4th round, GM Niaz Murshed drew with Indonesia's CM Aditya Bagus Arfan, GM Razib beat Kazakistan's WIM Nazerke Nurgali, FM Subrota lost to Indonesia's GM Susanto Megaranto, IM Shakil beat the Philippines' Gladmir Chester Romero while IM Fahad beat Jimmy Dano of the same country.
The 5th round games will be held Monday from 12noon Bangladesh time and the Bangladeshi players will play from the Bangladesh Chess Federation hall room.
Top Bangladeshi Chess Players of All Time
Chess is well known as the game of intelligence. However, it was invented by the Indians but was not limited to India. People from all over the world have become experts in chess, and some of the countries produced numerous world-class chess players. There are even various national and international events related to chess. Over the years, many Bangladeshi players have participated in different chess events and bring out success for the country. We will discuss the best Bangladeshi chess players of all time. While making the list, we have considered the achievements of the players.
Legendary Chess Players in the history of Bangladesh
Niaz Murshed
When we talk about the Chess players of Bangladesh, Grandmaster Niaz Murshed's name comes first. He was honored with the 'Independence Day Award' by the government of Bangladesh in 1989 for his outstanding achievements in the field of sports. In 1987, Niaz Morshed was awarded Grandmaster at the age of just 21 and became the first Grandmaster in Bangladesh and South Asia as well.
Besides, with that award, Murshed became the 5th Grandmaster of Asia. Niaz Morshed participated in the 'National Chess' competition when he was only nine years old. And at the age of only 12, he became well known as one of the top chess players in Bangladesh. Niaz Morshed was the national champion for four consecutive years from 1989 to 1982.
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Ziaur Rahman
Ziaur is the second Bangladeshi player to win the Grandmaster. Besides, he also won the International Master (IM) title in 1993. Forty-seven years old Grandmaster still plays at the national and international level. He won the Bangladesh championship 14 times. Rahman also appeared in the Chess World Cup in 2007 but got beaten in the first round by Russian Super GM Jakovenko.
After that, he qualified for the world cup in 2011, 2013, and 2015, but he could not cross the first round on any of these tournaments. Ziaur Rahman also represented Bangladesh at the Olympiad 13 times from 1986 to 2014. Among all the international events, winning the Nagpur International Open in 2012 is one of his notable achievements.
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Reefat Bin Sattar
Bangladeshi chess player Reefat Bin Sattar won the Grandmaster title. He is the third Grandmaster of chess in Bangladesh. Rifat received the International Master title in 1993. However, he won the International Grandmaster title in 2008 when his FIDE rating exceeded 2,500. All three norms he achieved in the chess competition held in Dhaka. Further, Sattar has competed in seven Chess Olympiads from 1994 to 2006 and proudly represented Bangladesh. He also achieved a good reputation at the national level. Reefat won the national championship six times.
Mollah Abdullah Al-Rakib
Abdullah Al-Rakib is the fourth Grandmaster of Bangladesh. He won the achievement in 2007. Rakib won his first Grandmaster Norm at the 2nd Asian Chess Championship in Kolkata in 2001, the second at the Leonine Chess Club Grandmaster Chess Tournament in 2004, and the third at the National Chess Championship in Dhaka in April 2006.
However, he was supposed to obtain the Grandmaster in April 2007, but a few misunderstandings from the International Chess Federation delayed him. Rakib won the national title two times and became runner up three times in 2003, 2004, and 2006. Furthermore, he attended Chess Olympiads seven times to represent the country.
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Enamul Hossain
Enamul Hossain Rajib is one of the best chess players in Bangladesh, who won the Bangladesh Chess Championship in 1996 and 2008. Enamul achieved the first norm of his first Grand Master in 2002 after winning the International Master title at the Chess Olympiad held in Slovenia in 2002.
After that, he won the 2nd norm in the Grand Master competition held in Abu Dhabi. He defeated Russian player Pavel Elzanov to win the second norm. On May 4, 2008, Enamul Hossain Rajib received his 3rd and final GM norm. Afterward, he became the fifth Grandmaster of Bangladesh.
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Rani Hamid
Rani Hamid was one of the best women chess players in Bangladesh. She won the International Women's Master award in 1975. Rani was the first female international chess master of Bangladesh. Besides, she won the British women's chess championship three times in 1983, 1985, and 1989. Moreover, she also won the gold medal in Commonwealth Chess Championship-2015.
Rani Hamid started playing chess professionally after her marriage as she got inspiration from her husband. She won the National Women's Chess Championship six times from 1979 to 1984. Till 2008, Rani has won the National Women's Chess Championship a total of 15 times. She also represented Bangladesh many times in the Chess Olympiad.
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Shamima Akter Liza
Liza is the current sensation of a women's chess competition in Bangladesh. She won the Bangladesh Women's Chess Championship in 2005, 2010, and 2014. However, she also became the first Bangladeshi women's chess player to participate in the World Women's Chess Championship in 2015.
She qualified for the world championship after winning the 2014 national title. After that, in February 2017, Liza participated in the World Women's Chess Championship held in Tehran, Iran, but lost in the first round against India's Grandmaster Harika Dronavali.
Sharmin Sultana Shirin
Woman International Master (WIM) winner Sharmin Sultana Shirin is on the rise. She is a female FIDE Master and won the Bangladesh Women's Chess Championship twice. She won the National Women's Chess Championship for the first time in 2009 and later became the undefeated champion at the 33rd National Women's Chess Championship in 2013 for Titas Club. So far, she has played 67 games at the national and international level, and the overall winning percentage is 53%.
Read The most famous Bangladeshi female athletes of all time
Bottom Line
In this era of cricket and football, no one gives proper concentration in chess. Therefore, the country couldn't produce any Grandmaster after 2008. Only India and Bangladesh have grandmasters in this subcontinent. Over the years, the craze for chess is declining, which raises the question, how long can Bangladesh keep this place of pride?