Bangladesh off to winning start in Chess Olympiad

Bangladesh men's and women's chess team made a winning start in the 42nd World Chess Olympiad, which began in Baku, Azerbaijan on Friday. Bangladesh men's team, comprising Grandmasters Enamul Hossain Razib, Mollah Abdullah al Rakib and Niaz Murshed and International Master Mohammad Minhaz Uddin, outplayed San Marino by 4-0 points in the open category. Razib, Rakib, Niaz and Minhaz defeated San Marino's Paul Rossini, Berardi Giancarlo, Maccapani Massimiliano and Volpinari Danilo. The women's side, containing Women's IMs Shamima Akter Liza and Rani Hamid and Women's Fide Masters Sharmin Sultana Shirin and Nazrana Khan Eva beat Najwa Mohammed Ahmed, Rawan Eyhab, Ibtihal Mohammed and Zienab Mustafa Mansour of Sudan by the same scoreline. A total of 180 teams from 175 countries and three organisations are taking part in the open section while 140 teams from 136 countries and two organisations are participating in the women's event. In the open section, Bangladesh were scheduled to play against world chess champion Magnus Carlsen’s Norwegian team on Saturday at 5pm (Bangladesh standard time). Bangladesh women's team, meanwhile, are up against Vietnam.