15-year-old Neer becomes Bangladesh’s newest international master in Hungary

Manon Reza Neer has been crowned as an International Master in Hungary.

On 4 October, Neer defeated India's Panda Sambit in the eighth round of the Grandmasters Chess Tournament held in Budapest. This win brought his total to 6 points over eight rounds, earning him his third International Master norm.

To qualify as an International Master, a player must achieve a rating of 2400 and secure three norms. Neer's current rating stands at 2450, and he had previously obtained two norms. With Friday's third norm, Neer has now met all the requirements for the title. The Bangladesh Chess Federation's arbiter, Haroonur Rashid, confirmed the news to the media.

Neer's accomplishment brings the total number of International Masters in Bangladesh to five: Zillur Rahman Champak, Abu Sufian Shakil, Minhazuddin Sagar, Fahad Rahman, and Manon Reza Neer. Among them, Fahad Rahman has already secured one Grandmaster norm. Fahad is also competing in the same tournament in Hungary and, with a win in his final round on 5 October, he has the chance to secure another Grandmaster norm.

Following their participation in the Chess Olympiad in Budapest, three male and two female Bangladeshi players remained in Hungary to compete in three additional tournaments at their own expense. In the first tournament, WFM Warda Arefin earned a Women's International Master norm, and Neer became an International Master in the second. The third tournament holds further hopes for increasing norms and ratings for the Bangladeshi players, with high expectations for additional successes.