The 40th Berger Paints National ‘A’ Chess Championship 2014 will get underway at the Bangladesh Olympic Association’s (BOA) media centre today.
A total of 14 players including four Grandmasters and one International Master are taking part in the competition. The top 10 players from the recently concluded National B Championship will also feature.
The Bangladesh Chess Federation has invited five Grandmasters - Abdullah Al Rakib, Ziaur Rahman, Enamul Hossain, Niaz Murshed and Reefat Bin Sattar – to play in the event. Everyone but Reefat will participate in the tournament.
The average rating of the participants is 2368 which means IM Minhazuddin Ahmed Sagar will not achieve the GM norm from the tournament. According to the international chess rules, the average rating of the opponent players should be 2381 or more if a player wants to achieve the GM norm from a national competition.
However, all the other participants with the exception of the four grandmasters and Sagar will have the opportunity to achieve the norm of IM. The reason behind the low average rating is the absence of GM Reefat and IM Abu Sufiyan Shakil. The lowest rating-holder in the tournament is Mahtabuddin Ahmed, whose rating is only 2127.
