Ziaur Rahman (1 May 1974 – 5 July 2024) was a Bangladeshi chess grandmaster. He was the second Bangladeshi to earn the Grandmaster title in 2002. His 2570

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( , ), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national chess federations and acts as the Spor ...

rating in October 2005 is still the highest ever achieved by a Bangladeshi chess player.

Early life and career

Rahman passed his SSC from Government Laboratory High School. He then graduated from the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka w ...

in anthropology. Rahman earned the

International Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

(IM) title in 1993. He was the second Bangladeshi to obtain the Grandmaster (GM) title in 2002 after Niaz Murshed in 1993. In 2021, he won the Mujib Borsho Invitational in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

with a score of 7.5/9 His playing style was solid positional.

Personal life

Rahman was married to Labanya. In 2022, Rahman represented Bangladesh in the 44th Chess Olympiad with his son, Tahsin Tajwar Zia, also a chess player. They were the first father-son duo to be on a national chess team.

Death

On 5 July 2024, Rahman fell to the ground during his 12th round match of the Bangladesh Chess Federation National Chess Tournament against Enamul Hossain Rajib. He was then taken to Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital in

Shahbag Shahbagh (also Shahbaugh or Shahbag, , ) is a major neighbourhood and a police precinct or ''thana'' in Dhaka, the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. It is also a major public transport hub. It is a junction between two contrasting section ...

, where it was declared that he had died of a heart attack. It was later corrected that he died due to a stroke. He was 50 when he died.

References

External links

* * * * 1974 births 2024 deaths Alumni of St. Joseph Higher Secondary School University of Dhaka alumni Chess Grandmasters Asian Games competitors for Bangladesh Chess players at the 2010 Asian Games 21st-century Bangladeshi chess players Recipients of the Bangladesh National Sports Award Chess players at the 2022 Asian Games Chess Olympiad competitors Place of birth missing Sports competitors who died in competition Sport deaths in Bangladesh Government Laboratory High School alumni {{Bangladesh-chess-bio-stub