Niaz Murshed played football a lot as a kid. The beautiful game is still his favourite sport after chess.
He also likes swimming. Among others, he is a music critique, sporadic singer, poet in disguise, and a learner of diverse languages – sheerly out of sublime passion.
While playing chess and roaming around Europe, Niaz met a Croatian musician in the Balkans.
It was early 1991. Yugoslavia was on the verge of being dissolved into many new nations.
Niaz remembered the singer’s name – Zlatko Bebek. Niaz was staying at the hotel where Bebek was performing.
“He had strong features of a gypsy. Seeing him made me want to sing too,” reminisced Niaz.
“I wanted to meet the artist and I did. It moved me hugely and led to me trying my hand at music,” he said.
It did not take long. Once he returned home, he started singing with a guitar in his hands.
He had that voice of a singer. He soon released an album of 10 songs.
The initial songs were influenced by western style. He put his own lyrics and voice. Eminent musician Partha Barua composed the music of his debut album.
Niaz still sings on occasions. But he rather feels comfortable calling himself a critique.
“I listen to all kinds of music – from the Balkans to Spain, from the Arab to subcontinent. I rather call myself a critique of music, not musician,” he elaborated.
“I hope to write a book regarding my experience with the various kinds of music I came across over the years,” he added.
Niaz later produced music of his own tune after the first released album.
The poet in Niaz evolved soon after he left real estate business and just made a return to chess. The poems began filling his notebook in around 2004-05.
When it comes to poetry, he had a consciousness for meters and words.
The poems also hinted of his knowledge on history, mythology, literature and geography.
In the only published poetry book, the mention of Silk Route, Halicarnassus, Corinth, Marco Polo, Pelops, Kublai Khan, Rigoletto, Agamemnon and Capulet could provoke the readers to dig further and find deeper meaning of his works.
The book covers a total 20 poems alongside illustrations by artist Monirul Islam.
Titled “Matro Ek Kuri” (Only One Twenty), it was published in 2009 under his pen name – Zain Dehsrum, which is alphabetically reverse of the original spelling.
“I wrote around 50-60 poems. The rest are unpublished. There is no plan yet to release them. I just want to write few more and make it hundred,” he said.
“I don’t think all the work of the great poets are equally appealing. I read all poems of Jibananda Das. He is my favourite poet but I don’t like his late works. Hence, I decided to be choosy,” Niaz explained his quest in poetry.
His other favourite poet is Shamsur Rahman with whom he had several meet-ups. Shamsur Rahman even dedicated one of his poetry books to Niaz, the chess star.
“I wish the poet (Shamsur Rahman) was still alive to see my poems,” Niaz rued.
Born in 1966 in Dhaka, Niaz did first two grades at Holy Cross before moving to St. Joseph’s until SSC in 1983. He passed HSC from Dhaka College in 1985. He completed BA in economics from University of Pennsylvania in the US. By this time, he earned the grandmaster title. His endeavor in other fields began years later.
In the 2000s, Niaz did his MBA from Victoria University in Australia. He also worked as financial advisor of an asset management company recently.
Just after the conclusion of the Premier Division Chess League 2025 where Niaz’s team emerged champions, he gave this interview, sharing his taste for prose too.
“I think my prose should be better than my poetry,” he opined.
“I wrote for some magazines. I should write more. Writing is in my wish list.”
He wants to go on in his next expedition in literature – writing a novel.
Another interesting facet of Niaz is his expertise knowing different languages. That too started after he became GM.
He learned French at the Alliance Française in the 1990s. With his son, he recently learned Spanish. He also understands Hindi.
“I can also speak Russian and Turkish a little. I’m practicing Spanish a lot lately,” he said.
“I did all these – music, poetry and languages – just out of hobby.”
He admitted the experience in chess and the game strategies helped him take better decisions and sort out plans in many aspects of his life away from the chess board.
There is a chess strategy that Niaz made popular during his heydays. It was a particular opening that had not been played much since its inception.
“I played 56 games with this opening. Australian grandmaster Ian Rogers wrote in a chess magazine in 1993 that this chess opening should have been named after me as ‘Murshed Anti King’s Indian’,” said Niaz.
Niaz wants to compile all of such events and materials into an autobiography.
He also talked about his other future goals.
“I don't have much to do in chess right now. If I can travel and play chess the way I started my career, I will be very happy. I don't want anything else from chess,” he said.
“I was supposed to publish another book of poetry, but it didn't happen. I want to prepare one or two more poetry books and write one or two novels as well.
“I am thinking of an autobiography. These require a lot of attention.
“I also have interest in politics and if the opportunity comes, I’ll give it a think.”