Foreign Minister Momen’s 12-minute long fight against grandmaster Niaz Morshed
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and grandmaster Niaz Morshed took part in a friendly match in “Sheikh Russel Memorial Rapid Chess Tournament”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday organised a day-long chess tournament to mark the birthday of Sheikh Russel, the youngest son of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen inaugurated the "Sheikh Russel Memorial Rapid Chess Tournament" at the Foreign Service Academy, reports the Prothom Alo.
After the opening ceremony, the foreign minister and grandmaster Niaz Morshed took part in a friendly match. Dr AK Abdul Momen lost the match to Niaz Morshed within 12 minutes.
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The foreign ministry on Saturday posted a picture of the match between two on its Facebook page.
Reminiscing about his experience of playing chess, Dr Momen said, "I used to play chess when I was a student. I last played chess during the war in 1971. When we fled from the city to the village in 1971, taking refuge in different places, we spent time playing chess."
"I think those who play chess, their IQ is very sharp. I heard that chess champion Garry Kasparov had an IQ of 150 plus. Or his position after the scientist Einstein. Einstein's IQ was 205," the minister added.
"From what I have heard, the game of chess started in the Indian subcontinent in the seventh century. When the Arab-Persians come here, they learned the game. Then the game of chess went to Arab countries. From there it went to southern Europe. Officially, it probably dates back to 1500 or 1600 AD. It was first established as a game in 1886," Momen further said.
After his match with the foreign minister, grandmaster Niaz Morshed said, "Even after a long time, you have played very well."
Earlier, in a speech as the chief guest, the foreign minister said: "Chess is a game of intellect, a fun game. Those who can play it, but they are good at determining the strategy. It is very necessary. Especially for those of us who are in the foreign ministry, I would request them to play chess."
Thirty Bangladeshi diplomats took part in the day-long chess tournament organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General Mohammad Alimuzzaman won the tournament. Alauddin Bhuiyan, director of the office of state minister for foreign affairs, came second in the tournament.
