Niaz Murshed
| Niaz Murshed | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 13, 1966 Dhaka, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) |
| Title | Grandmaster (1987) |
| FIDE rating | 2423 (May 2017) |
| Peak rating | 2490 (March 2013) |
| Ranking | No. 1426 (November 2013) |
Niaz Murshed (Bengali: নিয়াজ মোরশেদ; also Morshed; born May 13, 1966) is a Bangladeshi chess Grandmaster. In 1987 he became the first South Asian to earn the Grandmaster title.
Murshed was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to Manzur Murshed and Najma Ahmed. He picked up the game from his older brother. His neighbor was Jamilur Rahman, who later became a national champion himself. These favorable conditions may have contributed to the young Murshed's devotion to chess. Murshed passed his SSC exam in 1983 from St. Joseph High School and HSC exam in 1985 from Dhaka College.
As a nine-year-old, Murshed entered the preliminary rounds of the national chess championship. Although he failed to qualify, he left a lasting impression on all present. By the age of 12, he was considered one of the top players in Bangladesh. In 1978, he finished first in the national championship with two others, but ultimately placed third on a tie-breaker. He went on to win the next four national championships in 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1982.
He became the national champion again after 30 years in 2012.
In 1979, Murshed played in his first international competition at Kolkata, India. In 1981, he tied for first in the Asian Junior Championship, held in Dhaka, but was counted second on tiebreak since he had fewer wins (and losses) than Ricardo de Guzman (Philippines) who was awarded the title and automatic IM. He also placed second in the zonal tournament, held in Sharjah, UAE the same year, earning his International Master Title in the process. Murshed participated in the 1982 World Junior Chess Championship, and although he failed to replicate his recent success, his game against Lars Schandorff of Denmark (later a grandmaster) was selected as the best game of the tournament.
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