Zia was devoted to chess till his last day

Ziaur Rahman was my first real competitor in chess in Bangladesh. From 1979 to 1996, I was at the top. In 1996, Zia overtook me in the ratings and became the country's best chess player, a position he held longer than anyone else.

Personally, I used to struggle a lot whenever I played against him, he was excellent. I took a sabbatical from the game in 1996 and after my return, he always gave me a really tough time and I admired him for it.

His dedication towards the game was unparalleled in Bangladesh. No one has played in more chess World Cups than him or won more national championships. He also represented Bangladesh in 17 Chess Olympiads, more than anyone else. His devotion towards chess was much greater than mine. He had a degree in anthropology from Dhaka University but his true love had always been chess. He trained his son as a chess player as well.

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GM Zia breathes his last doing what he loved

Zia took chess as a profession, which is a really challenging thing to do. I was never a fully professional chess player. I dabbled in many things but Zia was completely devoted to chess till his last day.

People remember me, because I was the first to get GM norm in South Asia, but in terms of quality, Zia was better than me.

No player from Bangladesh has ever made it to the Super GM level in chess. But the only one who came close to doing it was Zia. He was on path to reaching that level when he peaked in 2007-8, but eventually couldn't break through.

He coached professionally in India. He also taught chess to players from other countries as well through online coaching.

I wasn't there at the Chess Federation hall room when he fell down, I had left at around 5:00 pm. I had spoken to him the day before yesterday. We spoke for a long time about many things in good humour.

To me, he looked very tired. His hair was scuffed up and looked dishevelled. I asked him why he was wearing a muffler in the heat. He said he was feeling cold. I found that a bit strange. He didn't look too well. But he was speaking normally.

I had told him to go to a doctor many times before, but he never listened. In the Chennai Olympiad in 2022, he fell sick after the opening ceremony. He vomited a few times, I told him it could be a cardiac issue. But he said it was nothing like that, it was just some indigestion. He could've gotten it checked for free over there, but he didn't do it. He always ignored his health, he thought his condition wasn't that serious. But he couldn't play for three days in that Olympiad.

He led the life of a school headmaster. He was dedicated to chess like how a headmaster looks after a school. He lived a simple life. Whenever we would approach him saying, 'Zia, let's go to this place,' he would say, 'No, Niaz bhai, I don't want to go'. He wasn't outgoing, only obsessing over chess.

Zia hardly got anything in return for his dedication to chess. We need to ensure that his family doesn't suffer and that his wife and son are fine. The federation needs to take that initiative and the government also needs to take some steps.

I still can't believe that I won't get to hear Zia's deep voice, his jokes and laughter anymore. His death has left a huge gap. He had become an inseparable part of our chess community. Whether it was the World Cup or the Olympiad or the National Championship, he was everywhere. He was the heart and soul of our chess, and now, he will no longer be here, this realisation is hurting me the most.

*The writer Niaz Murshed is Bangladesh's first chess Grandmaster