Neer wins chess championship with heavy heart

FIDE Master Manon Reja Neer, a 14-year-old chess prodigy, emerged as the undefeated champion in the 48th National Chess Championship yesterday ahead of three Grandmasters, but rather than being on cloud nine, the teenager was going through a whirlwind of emotions, still coming to terms with the sudden demise of his beloved 'Zia sir'.

"I had nearly confirmed my championship win with two rounds in hand and was really happy about it. But now I am shocked and can't find the words to express my emotions after the death of my beloved Zia sir," Neer told The Daily Star yesterday.

Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman, who passed away on Friday after suffering a cardiac arrest during the 12th round match of the championship, had started coaching players in the last few years and Neer was one of his students.

Neer, who left for Sri Lanka yesterday to take part in two tournaments, emulated Zia with his championship win as the latter had also won his first title at 14 in 1988.

"Zia sir was my closest rival in the just-concluded championship, I was ahead by only one point. He probably would have been happy to see me to become champion as I had once trained under him for 11 successive days, travelling from Narayanganj to his Mohammadpur resident," said the ninth-grader, adding that he could never beat GM Zia.

The teenage chess prodigy has become the 16th player to win the national championship. With his triumph, the ninth-grader also emulated GM Zia, who had also won his first championship at the age of 14.

However, the record of the youngest national champion in chess still belongs to GM Niaz Murshed, who won it in 1979 at the age of 13.

Neer surprised everyone by securing 10 points in 13 matches including three draws against three GMs – Niaz, Zia and Enamul Hossain Razib.

Neer feels his performance in the 21st Bangkok Chess Club Open in April, where he secured 6.5 points out of nine helped him to win the championship after three unsuccessful attempts.

"Since I started playing in the national championship, my target was to become champion. I think good performances in Thailand helped me a lot to play better," said Neer, who earned his first International Master norm from the Bangkok Chess Club Open and secured the second IM norm from the just concluding national championship.

Asked about his future plan, Neer said, "My ultimate target is to become world champion which is hard but not impossible. The immediate target is to secure the IM title and then become the country's sixth GM within next two years. For that, I need financial help, sponsorship and training," said Neer who also expressed his gratitude to Bangladesh Cricket Board's media committee chairman Tanvir Ahmed Titu for providing him air tickets to participate in tournaments overseas.