Ziaur Rahman, Bangladeshi chess legend

by Sagar Shah
7/18/2024 – Ziaur Rahman, the second grandmaster of Bangladesh and the player to have reached the highest rating in his country (2570), passed away on 5 July while playing a game of chess at the Bangladeshi National Championships. He suffered a heart attack and collapsed to the ground. Ziaur was just 50 years old. In this article, we look back at his life and remember what a gem of a person he was both on and off the board, and we also share heartfelt messages from some of the top Indian GMs. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Winning starts with what you know
The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.

Remembering Ziaur Rahman

The date was 22 August 2008. It was the seventh round at the Dato Tan Open in Malaysia - my first-ever tournament outside Indian soil. My opponent was a grandmaster from Bangladesh, rated 2564: GM Ziaur Rahman.

Shah v. Rahman, Malaysian Open (2008)

The position is difficult for me (as White). Black is a couple of pawns up and although his king is a bit unsafe, his position does seem manageable. Ziaur, in his bid to exchange off pieces, played his queen to f6. I just couldn't believe my eyes! I moved my rook to c8 and after Kxc8 Bg4+, the queen on f6 was lost. Ziaur resigned the game.

Even though 16 years have elapsed since this moment, I remember it as if it happened yesterday. I ran to the washroom, with tears in my eyes, and I pumped my fists. It was my first-ever win against a grandmaster.

Sagar Shah

The organizers had a special prize in the tournament for any untitled player who beat a grandmaster: 100 USD - it goes without saying that this note remains with me as one of the most precious memories of my chess playing career

The win proved as a constant motivation in my chess journey. Whenever I doubted myself, it provided me with a source of inspiration to continue moving along the path of improvement. But you know, when I look back at my journey, what is even more inspiring for me now as an individual was how Ziaur Rahman behaved with me after that game. Always with a smile, never bitter about the result - he showed me what sportsmanship in chess looked like without ever uttering a single word. His actions spoke louder than words.

Ziaur Rahman

Ziaur Rahman with his wonderful family - wife Labanya and son Zia Tahsin

Interview with Ziaur Rahman and Zia Tahsin after round 4 of the Chess Olympiad 2022

In our last few meets, Ziaur would always compliment me for the work I was doing for chess. "ChessBase India has played an important role in the growth of Indian chess", is what he had mentioned once to me. It goes without saying that coming from a man who had been in the chess world for so long, this was highly inspirational for me.

On 5 July 2024, the chess world got the shocking news of Ziaur Rahman passing away. He was just 50 years old. He was playing at the Bangladeshi National Championships 2024, and in the twelfth round was up against GM Enamul Hossain.

After 25 moves, the following position was reached.

Rahman v. Hossain, Bangladesh (2024)

In the above position, which was clearly better for Ziaur (White), he collapsed on the floor. He was then taken to Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital in Shahbag, where it was declared that he had died of a heart attack. Absolutely shocking news.

The Bangladeshi chess legend

Ziaur Rahman, born on 1 May 1974, was the second player from Bangladesh to achieve the GM title after Niaz Murshed. He holds the record for the highest rating reached by a Bangladeshi chess player: 2570. Apart from winning many strong international events, he represented his country in 15 Olympiads and won the national championship a record 15 times.

At the Dresden Olympiad in 2008, Ziaur Rahman played for the top board of the Bangladesh team and was pitted against Magnus Carlsen. In fact, he got an excellent position out of the opening and going into the middlegame. In the end, he had to split the point. But it was definitely one of the highlights of Ziaur Rahman's chess career.

New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 e6 3.e4 h6 4.Bxf6 Qxf6 5.c3 d5 6.Nd2 c5 7.Ngf3 Nc6 8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.Bd3 0-0 10.0-0 Bb6 11.Qe2 Qf4 12.Rad1 Bd7 13.Bc2 Rfd8 14.exd5 exd5 15.Qd3 Be6 16.Qh7+ Kf8 17.Nb3 Qf6 18.Nbd4 Nxd4 19.Nxd4 Rac8 20.Rd3 Bxd4 21.Rxd4 Rc4 22.Rfd1 Rxd4 23.Rxd4 Qe5 24.Rd1 d4 25.Qd3 Bxa2 26.cxd4 Qa5 27.h3 Be6 28.Bb3 Bxb3 29.Qxb3 Rxd4 30.Rxd4 Qe1+ 31.Kh2 Qe5+ 32.Kg1 Qe1+ 33.Kh2 Qe5+ 34.Kg1 Qxd4 35.Qxb7 g5 36.g3 Kg7 37.Kg2 a5 38.b3 ½–½
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Rahman,Z2510Carlsen,M2786½–½2008A45Olympiad-387

Ziaur Rahman

Ziaur Rahman

Ziaur Rahman played an amazing tournament at the Kolkata GM 2014. Although he finished sixth, he managed to remain unbeaten and he stunned two 2600+ opponents: Nigel Short and Sergey Fedorchuk. Replay below both victories.

New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Qc7 7.Qg4 f5 8.Qg3 Qxg3 9.hxg3 Nf6 10.a4 Nc6 11.Ba3 Ne4 12.Ne2 dxc4 13.f3 Nf6 14.Bxc5 b6 15.Ba3 Ba6 16.0-0-0 Rd8 17.Re1 Kf7 18.Nf4 e5 19.Nh3 h6 20.Be2 Rhe8 21.f4 exd4 22.exd4 Na5 23.Bf3 Bb7 24.Re5 Bxf3 25.gxf3 Nc6 26.Rxf5 Re3 27.Kb2 Rxf3 28.g4 Rd5 0–1
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Short,N2674Rahman,Z24860–12014D31Kolkata op 19th3
Rahman,Z2486Fedorchuk,S26471–02014A45Kolkata op 19th7

If you look closely at both the above games, you will see that they were quite different in nature. Although Ziaur remained at heart a positional player, he loved complications and did not shy away from complex games. This was clear in his battle against Fedorchuk.

At the FIDE World Cup 2013, Ziaur Rahman was up against Boris Gelfand in round 1. In the first game, Gelfand won. But the second encounter was an amazing battle in which Ziaur came out all guns blazing in a must-win encounter. Boris escaped by the skin of his teeth and managed to qualify for round 2 of the World Cup.

Below is the second game of the match.

New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 d5 3.e3 c5 4.Bxf6 gxf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.Qh5 Nd7 7.0-0-0 f5 8.Bb5 Qf6 9.Nf3 a6 10.Bxd7+ Bxd7 11.Ne5 cxd4 12.Nxd7 Kxd7 13.Rxd4 Bg7 14.Rb4 b5 15.Rd1 Qg6 16.Nxd5 exd5 17.Rxd5+ Ke7 18.Qh4+ Bf6 19.Qf4 Bg5 20.Qc7+ Kf8 21.g4 fxg4 22.Rxg4 Bxe3+ 23.fxe3 Qxg4 24.Qc5+ Kg7 25.Rg5+ Qxg5 26.Qxg5+ Kf8 27.b3 h6 28.Qf6 Kg8 29.e4 b4 30.e5 a5 31.e6 fxe6 32.Qg6+ Kf8 33.Qf6+ Kg8 34.Qxe6+ Kg7 35.Qe5+ Kf7 36.h4 Rhd8 37.Qf5+ Kg7 38.Qg4+ Kf7 39.h5 Rh8 40.Qf5+ Ke7 41.Kb2 Kd6 42.Qf6+ Kd5 43.Qf5+ Kd6 44.a3 bxa3+ 45.Kxa3 Raf8 46.Qd3+ Ke5 47.Qg3+ Kf5 48.Qg6+ Kf4 49.c4 Rfg8 50.Qf7+ Kg4 51.c5 Rf8 52.Qg6+ Kh4 53.c6 Rfg8 54.Qf7 Rf8 55.Qd5 Rd8 56.Qc5 Kg4 57.c7 Rdf8 58.Kb2 Ra8 59.Ka3 Raf8 60.Qd5 Rhg8 61.Qe5 Re8 62.Qd5 Ref8 63.Ka4 Ra8 64.Qd1+ Kg5 65.Kb5 Rgf8 66.Kb6 Rf6+ 67.Kb7 Rff8 68.Qd5+ Kg4 69.Qe5 Rfe8 70.Qc5 Rf8 71.Qd5 Kh4 72.Kc6 Kg4 73.Kd7 Kh4 74.Qh1+ Kg4 75.Qh2 Rf7+ 76.Kc6 Rf6+ 77.Kb7 Rff8 78.Qh1 Rfe8 79.Qa1 Kxh5 80.Qa4 Kg5 81.b4 h5 82.bxa5 h4 83.Qd7 Rh8 84.Qd5+ Kf4 85.Qd4+ Kg3 86.Qg1+ Kf3 87.a6 h3 88.Qh2 Rae8 89.a7 Reg8 90.Qh1+ Kf2 91.Qh2+ Kf3 92.Kb6 Rg6+ 93.Kc5 Rh5+ 94.Kc4 Rg4+ 95.Kc3 Rc5+ 96.Kd3 Rd5+ 97.Kc3 Rc5+ 98.Kd3 Rd5+ 99.Kc2 Rc5+ 100.Kd1 Rd5+ 101.Kc1 Rc5+ 102.Kb2 Rb5+ 103.Kc3 ½–½
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Rahman,Z2470Gelfand,B2764½–½2013D01FIDE World Cup1.2

Homage to Ziaur Rahman

Boris Gelfand: Really shocking news. I played with Ziaur in the first round of the World Cup in Tromso. It was a very tough match. I was White in the first game. I had some pressure, but he played excellent positional chess, and I was lucky to win just due to his mistakes in time trouble (move 40 was the decisive one). In the second game he outplayed me, and I saved that game just by luck. I met Ziaur during some tournaments, and it was always a pleasure to see him. A tragic loss for the chess community. My deep condolences to Ziaur's family.

Arjun Erigaisi: It is indeed very shocking and sad to hear the passing of Ziaur Rahman at just 50. I saw him play in India for so many years, and in 2022 I played in the same team as him in the Bangladesh League. He was always very friendly and cheerful during the team meetings. I hope his soul rests in peace.

Pentala Harikrishna: I was shocked when I came across the news. We met at various events and he was always friendly, cheerful, and had good advice. It was wonderful to see Zia and his son participating at the Chess Olympiad! The chess world will miss him a lot and my sincere condolences to Zia's Family. May his soul rest in peace.

Humpy Koneru: I am shocked to hear this news. I have played with him in my younger days and have seen in most of the Indian open tournaments. He is a very gentle and soft-natured person. My heartfelt condolence for the loss to his family.

Krishnan Sasikiran: It is very sad to hear this news. I have played a lot of interesting games against Ziaur Rahman. What stood out was his fighting spirit with either colour. One of our first games was a Chigorin Defence. He was one of the most original players and wanted to create irrational positions in which both players have to solve problems over the board. Clearly the chess world has lost a creative player and my deepest condolences to his family and friends.

Read more messages by top players on ChessBase India...


Video gallery


Links


Sagar is an International Master from India with two GM norms. He loves to cover chess tournaments, as that helps him understand and improve at the game he loves so much. He is the co-founder and CEO of ChessBase India, the biggest chess news portal in the country. His YouTube channel has over a million subscribers, and to date close to a billion views. ChessBase India is the sole distributor of ChessBase products in India and seven adjoining countries, where the software is available at a 60% discount. compared to International prices.

We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.