Bangladesh women’s team registered their fifth victory in the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad but their male teammates suffered their third defeat in the ninth round held in Chennai, India yesterday.

The Bangladesh women’s team also notched up an easy 4-0 win over Jamaica after losing in the previous round against Indonesia.

Bangladesh men’s team played out a 2-2 draw against Brazil but the women’s team lost 4-0 to Indonesia in the fourth round of the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad, held in Chennai today.

Bangladesh men’s team bounced back in the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad when they handed a 3.5-0.5 defeat to Netherlands Antilles in the third round of the open section, held in Chennai, India today.

FIDE Master Tahsin Tajwar Zia was reluctant to learn the intricacies of chess from his father, Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman, but his interest bloomed as he found himself confined at home during the Covid-19 pandemic and now Tajwar is far more serious about the game and spends a lot of time learning from his prominent father.

It's not entirely unheard of that father and son have represented the same team at international level. Bangladesh, however, had been devoid of such distinction so far. Not anymore though.

Since the emergence of Enamul Hossain Razib as the country’s fifth and last Grandmaster in 2008, no Bangladeshi chess player has won a single GM norm.

Khushbu, who was the highest-ranked player in the U-10 Girls’ group, secured 5.5 points from seven matches to leave behind Uzbekistan’s Xikmatkhonova Mokhinur and India’s Hanya Shah to finish on top in the rapid chess events.

With his hand pushed firmly into his cheek and his eyes fixed on the table, Garry Kasparov shot a final dark glance at the chessboard before storming out of the room: the king of chess had just been beaten by a computer.

Once a vibrant sport in the country, chess had apparently lost its charm since 2010 due to a dearth of organisers.

Noshin Anjum, an 18-year-old chess player who dared to defy the odds by competing against 80 boys and two girls, finished second in the 2022 National Junior Chess Championship despite not losing to eventual winner Subrata Biswas, a fellow FIDE Master, in the final.

Bangladesh, a country which produced the first grandmaster in the subcontinent through Niaz Murshed back in 1987, quite arguably, has miserably failed to live up to its expectation in the game of chess whereas neighbouring India, who had their first GM in Vishwanathan Anand in 1988, progressed in leaps in bounds over the years to become a global powerhouse at present.

TOTAL MALE PLAYERS: 1586

The Daily Star (DS): You bagged the grandmaster appellation back in 2008. Tell us about that achievement.

Premier Division Chess League, powered by Shah Cement, will see the highest number of Grand Masters participating in the tournament’s history. Seven of the 12 teams consist of a total of 18 GMs in the league, starting tomorrow at the Asia Hotel and Resort in Dhaka.

Indian teenage chess grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa won praise Tuesday for a stunning victory over world number one Magnus Carlsen in an online championship.

With less than three months’ training, Poly Khatun and Mim Akhter, children from the slums of Mirpur, have defeated internationally rated chess players. 

Grand Master Enamul Hossain Rajib became champion in the Golden Jubilee of Independence 46th National Premier Chess Championship by beating FM Subrota Biswas in the 13th and final round in Dhaka yesterday.

The Daily Star (DS): How much do you enjoy still playing chess at the age of 77? RH: I love playing chess, that's why I am still playing it. While it is true that I'm taking on many budding players or even the third generation, but theyget opportunities we didn’t have during our childhood. We were asked to play outdoors instead of sitting in front of the chess board. Chess was once a game of aged players but it has turned into a game for children. I am playing chess with the same enthusiasm I had from the beginning mainly because I have nothing much to do at home.

GM Ziaur Rahman could not topple GM Enamul Hossain Razib in the Golden Jubilee of Independence 46th National Premier Chess Championship after playing out a draw against his son – Tahsin Tajwar Zia in the championship’s fifth round at the Crown Hall of Hotel Asia Resorts in Paltan yesterday.