An international chess competition is going to take place in Dhaka celebrating the birthday of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina was born on September 28, 1947 in Tungipara of Gopalganj.
The South Asian Chess Council will organise the three-day tournament from Sep 24 with the support of the Canadian University of Bangladesh. 74 chess players from 15 countries including 14 grandmasters will take part in the tournament, the organisers said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Styled ‘Jayitu Sheikh Hasina International Online Chess Tournament’, the whole event will be held online.
Police chief Benazir Ahmed, also the president of Bangladesh Chess Federation and South Asia Chess Council, will inaugurate the tournament. Vice-President of Bangladesh Chess Federation and Chairman of the Canadian University of Bangladesh Chowdhury Nafiz Sharafat is the special guest.
At the press conference, Nafiz Sharafat said the tournament is an effort “to express gratitude to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for what she has done for the country, for the people and for humanity as a whole.”
He wished the Prime Minister a long life and overall improvement.
Syed Shahab Uddin Shamim, General Secretary of Bangladesh Chess Federation, said that they are expecting that former world champions Grandmaster Gary Kasparov and Bishwanathan Anand will take part in the competition.
The nine-round competition will be held in the Swiss league system. The total prize money of the tournament is $6000. The award ceremony will be held on September 28 at Hotel Le Meridien in the capital. State Minister for Youth and Sports Zahid Ahsan Russell will be the chief guest at the closing ceremony.
