FIDE Master Tahsin Tajwar Zia was reluctant to learn the intricacies of chess from his father, Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman, but his interest bloomed as he found himself confined at home during the Covid-19 pandemic and now Tajwar is far more serious about the game and spends a lot of time learning from his prominent father.

As a result, the father and son are on the verge of making history. They are set to represent Bangladesh in the upcoming 44th Chess Olympiad in India from July 28, which would mark the first instance that a Bangladesh national team featured a father-son duo. Zia will be competing in the Olympiad for the 15th time but it will be 16-year-old Tajwar's debut.

"Tahsin was not interested in learning chess at the academies where his father trained. Instead, he wanted to go outside and buy different toys, which at times annoyed his father. Zia had given up hope of making Tahsin a chess player, but the Covid-19 pandemic changed things. Now, father and son are more serious and spend a lot of time watching videos, analysing games and reading chess magazines at home," proud mother Tasmin Sultana told The Daily Star yesterday, adding that she was happy to see her dream of seeing her son and husband team up for Bangladesh come true.

"It was a dream to represent Bangladesh alongside my son, especially after he started performing well in the domestic circuit. It will be a great experience. It is an honor and I am proud of him because he reached this level on merit. We will try to perform well for the nation," Ziaur Rahman said after the official press conference at the National Sports Council yesterday.

Zia and Tahsin played together for Bangladesh Ansar during the Bangladesh Games and played against each other many times in the Premier Chess League, National Chess Championships and different international rating chess tournaments. Tahsin held his father to a tie on occasion in classical chess and even defeated Zia in a recent round of rapid chess at a tournament.

"Tahsin is in fine form. He played well in the National Championship and Premier League and drew against strong Grandmasters. So, I think he will continue to do better as he participates in more tournaments in the coming days," Zia evaluated. "The most positive aspect is that he is still young and studious and has a lot of energy to practice. Of course, I want to see him in a better position than us. I expect him to make records which Bangladeshi chess players have not achieved yet."

Tahsin opined that he was currently still far off the level of his father, but he wanted to surpass him and become a Super Grandmaster in the future.

"My father is better than me in every aspect. He is an experienced GM. Representing Bangladesh alongside my father was a dream. I have been travelling with my father to see the Olympiad since 2012 and I am now going to play in the Olympiad alongside him and I am really happy. I want to be a Super Grandmaster by crossing 2700 rating," said Tahsin.

GM Niaz Murshed, GM Enamul Hossain Razib and FM Mehdi Hasan Parag are the other members of the five-player squad that will begin their campaign in Chennai.

Meanwhile, WIM Rani Hamid was not included in the women's squad for the first time in 38 years after a poor performance in the national championship. The women's team included FM Shamima Sharmin Shirin, WFM Nazrana Khan Iva, WFM Noshin Anjum, CM Jannatul Ferdous and Umme Taslima Protiva Talukdar.

In the last edition of the Chess Olympiad, Bangladesh men's team finished 56th out of 185 nations while the women's team became 72nd among 151 nations. However, organisers expect to produce better results. The squad leaves for India today.