Bangladesh is focused to win both the men’s and women’s section titles in the Asian Zonal Chess Championship scheduled to start from March 27 in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Premier Bank Ltd, a leading private sector bank is the official sponsor of the Bangladesh contingent.
A strong 16-member Bangladesh team comprising 10 men and 6 women will fly to Nepal tomorrow. The six-team zonal championship comprises Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Bangladesh, ranked above their competitors, are poised to qualify for the World Chess Championships scheduled at the end of the year with the dates and venue still undecided. The event will be played across nine rounds Swiss-League system.
The men’s team players are GM Ziaur Rahman, GM Niaz Murshed, GM Mollah Abdullah Al-Rakib, GM Enamul Hossain Razib, IM Mohammad Minhazuddin Ahmed, FM Sheikh Nasir Ahmed, FM Khandaker Aminul Islam, FM Debaraj Chatterjee, CM Sohel Chowdhury and IM Abu Sufian Shakil. The women team comprises of WIM Shamima Akter Liza, WFM Nazrana Khan Eva, WIM Rani Hamid, WFM Zakia Sultana, WFM Sharmin Sultana Shirin and Mahmuda Hoque Chowdhury Moly.
In a press conference held at the NSC conference room yesterday, president of Bangladesh Chess Federation and director general of Rapid Action Battalion, Benazir Ahmed introduced the team to the media. Deputy managing director of Premier Bank Dewan Anwarul Latif, senior vice president Mohammed Emtiaz Uddin and federation general secretary Gazi Shayiful Tareque were also present during the occasion.