Manon Reja Neer, Bangladesh’s highest rated International Master (IM), has become champion in the MTB International Masters Chess Tournament, held at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) from December 14 to 23. The international tournament, which featured three IMs and three FIDE Masters (FM) from Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, was hosted by IUB’s Division of Student Activities (DoSA) and the IUB Chess Club, with technical support from the Bangladesh Chess Federation.

IM Manon secured the top spot with 6.5 points in nine games. FM Sakline Mostafa Sajid became the runner-up with six points, and Bivor Adak from India emerged third, also with six points. IM Minhaz Uddin Sagor secured the fourth place with 5.5 points. They received prize money worth BDT 40,000, BDT 30,000, BDT 20,000 and BDT 10,000, respectively.

Other players from Bangladesh included IM Abu Sufian Shakil, FM Khondokar Aminul Islam, and Amit Bikram Roy (from IUB). From India, there were Arpon Das (Jr) and FM Singh Gurpreet Pal. Nepal was represented by Silwal Purushottam.

South Asia’s first Grandmaster, Niaz Murshed, who is also the Advisor to the IUB Chess Club, was the tournament’s host. Mutual Trust Bank PLC (MTB) was the title sponsor. Md Haroon Or Rashid, Chief Arbiter of the Bangladesh Chess Federation, oversaw the event. He was assisted by Mishan Baskota, an assistant arbiter from Nepal.

The closing ceremony was graced by Captain Syed Sujauddin Ahmed, President of the Bangladesh Chess Federation; Md Bakhteyer Hossain, Deputy Managing Director, MTB PLC; Prof. Daniel W Lund, Pro Vice-Chancellor, IUB; and Atif M Safi, Head, DoSA, IUB.

Earlier, the opening ceremony was held on December 14 at the IUB Multipurpose Hall. GM Niaz Murshed; Didar A Husain, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of IUB; Trustees Towhid Samad, Rashed Chowdhury, A Matin Chowdhury, Mohammad Zakaria Khan, Dr Husne Ara Ali, and Md Tanveer Madar attended the event. Vice-Chancellor Prof. M Tamim, Pro Vice-Chancellor Prof. Lund, deans, and members of the IUB senior management were also in attendance.

The event was further graced by Dr Shoeb Reaz Alam, Vice-President, Bangladesh Chess Federation, and Md Bakhteyer Hossain. A highlight of the opening ceremony was an exhibition match between Towhid Samad and GM Niaz Murshed.