Chess Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman dies at 50

He fell ill during a match with Enamul Hossain in Dhaka

Chess Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman, who achieved the highest FIDE rating ever achieved by a Bangladeshi chess player, has died at the age of 50 after falling ill during a match.

He was rushed to Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital in Dhaka after collapsing during the 12th round match of the national tournament against Grandmaster Enamul Hossain around 6pm on Friday.

“We took him to the hospital within 10 minutes after he had collapsed, but he could not be saved,” International Arbiter Md Haroon or Rashid told bdnews24.com.

Born on May 1, 1974, Ziaur has been playing chess since his childhood and became a FIDE Master in 1990. He became an International Master in 1993 and Grandmaster in 2002.

After graduating from Dhaka University’s anthropology department, he took to chess as a career.