Bangladesh's top chess grandmaster dies during match

Bangladesh's top-ranked chess grandmaster Ziaur Rahman died while he was in the middle of a match due to a stroke.

According to reports from media outlets such as the Times of India and The Straits Times, the 50-year-old chess expert was taking part in a national championship match on Friday, July 5 against fellow grandmaster Enamul Hossain when he suffered a stroke and collapsed during the 12th round.

"Players and officials present in the hall room took him to the hospital quickly after he collapsed. Upon reaching there, doctors said he had already died," Shahab Uddin Shamim, the Bangladesh Chess Federation general secretary, told AFP.

Hossain said it took them a while to realize that Rahman was already in critical condition.

"When he was playing, it never felt like he was sick," he said.

"It was my move. So, when he was falling down, I thought he was leaning down to pick up a water bottle. But then he collapsed, and we rushed him to the hospital. His son was playing at the next table," he added.

Rahman has the highest rank among Bangladesh’s five chess grandmasters, having achieved a 2,570 rating from the International Chess Federation.

Since he became the second Bangladeshi to earn the Grandmaster title in 2002, he continued to emerge victorious in numerous national championships.