While the grandmasters of Bangladesh failed to earn laurels from the Commonwealth Chess Championship in India, it was unheralded veteran Hanif Mollah and young Manon Reja Neer who brought some solace to the nation.

Hanif won a gold medal in the 60+ age group category while Neer won silver in the under-8 age group category in this competition, which concluded in New Delhi, India yesterday. Hanif earned four points in nine games to become champion of his group while Neer earned 5.5 points in seven games to become the runner-up in his group.

Meanwhile, in the open section, GM Mollah Abdullah Al Rakib became 11th, GM Ziaur Rahman became 20th, GM Niaz Murshed became 21st and GM Enamul Hossain became 25th with six points each. FM Md Taibur Rahman finished 47th and WIM Shamima Akter Liza became 49th with five points each.