Bangladeshi young chess prodigy wins Dubai title
The youngest FIDE Master of Bangladesh Mohammad Fahad Rahman, clinched the title of the 14th Dubai Juniors Chess Tournament, after winning a tense ninth and final round in the United Arab Emirates yesterday.
The 13-year-old chess prodigy, sponsored by Mahindra Conviva, beat Omran Al Hossaini of UAE to collect eight points from nine games and become the unbeaten champion. The triumph is yet another feather in his cap following his success in the ASEAN Age-Group (U-10) Chess Championship of Thailand in 2013 which had earned him his FIDE master title at age 10. Fahad had earlier won the title of the Asian School Chess Tournament (Under-10) in Kolkata in November, 2012.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. After having forged a half-point lead in the seventh round on Sunday, Fahad stayed in front of the pack by playing out a draw on Monday against top seed FM Victor Matviishen of Ukraine in the penultimate round.
Although Matviishen and second seed Rahul Srivastava of India won their respective last boards on Tuesday, Fahad clinched the title and won a paycheque of 2,000 dollars along with the Sheikh Maktoum Bin Hamdan Al Maktoum Cup trophy.
"It was a tough tournament for me as there were two strong opponents from India and Ukraine, who are higher rated players than me. However, I managed to beat my Indian counterpart as well as hold the Ukrainian to a draw. I am happy as I am performing well after recovering from a poor patch," Fahad said through social network yesterday.
The 13-year-old started playing chess through a tournament organised by Bangladesh Shishu Academy before drawing attention two years later when he became an age-group champion in the National School Chess Tournament in 2009. His star kept rising as he lifted the title of the National Sub-Junior Chess Champions in 2011.
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