Niaz Morshed, the first grandmaster of the subcontinent, expressed his displeasure yesterday with the 14-member ad hoc committee of the Bangladesh Chess Federation, formed by retired secretary Syed Sujauddin Ahmed as its president. However, Grandmasters Rifat bin Sattar and Enamul Hossain Rajeev are pleased with the committee. The opinion of Grandmaster Abdullah Al Rakib on this matter is not known. Another Grandmaster, Ziaur Rahman, passed away prematurely last June.
Rajeev told the media recently, "The committee has been formed as we wanted." Later, he criticised Niaz's comments about the new president, Syed Sujauddin, in a Facebook post. Rajeev wrote, "Niaz Bhai supported Mokaddes Sahib's committee, under whose leadership chess is in its current state. And Suja Uncle's committee has produced four Grandmasters. In my view, if anyone has created a rift in chess, it has always been Niaz Bhai. He spoke nonsense in the name of everyone, from organisers to players." Rajeev did not respond to calls from Prothom Alo today.
Rifat bin Sattar is also very positive about the new committee. He wants to give the committee time and hopes it will achieve good things. Rifat said, "Let's see how the committee works. It is not right to be negative in advance. There are very good people here. We always think, this must be, that must be. It's not right. Dr. Arif Doulah, the vice president, has a good understanding of chess. Vice President Dr. Swaib Riaz Alam and Suja Uncle, the president, have been involved in chess for a long time. There are several other names who have been working on chess for a long time."
Rifat is particularly excited about the new General Secretary, Taibur Rahman Sumon. Joint Secretary and FIDE Master Taibur has been playing chess for a long time. Rifat believes that having him as the general secretary is beneficial for chess. He said, "What could be better than this?"
Rifat also mentioned that, like Niaz and Sujauddin, he did not know some of the committee members. He cited joint editor Nazneen Islam as an example. He added, "Everyone needs to know, there is no word. The Treasurer is a Chartered Accountant. He does not need to understand chess if he can perform his duties properly."
Syed Sujauddin was previously the President and General Secretary of the Chess Federation. He is also a retired secretary. The role of the federation's president is largely ceremonial, mainly to attract patrons. Niaz believes that this 77-year-old retired government official can no longer fulfil that role. Niaz told Prothom Alo, "Two members of the search committee went to Rani Apa's (Rani Hamid) house. I was there too. Suja Bhai is already controversial. As a result, we did not want him. There was no other person who could bring a sponsor!"
Rifat disagrees with Niaz's statement. He believes the new president is very capable. "Niaz Bhai and Rani Apa are legends. Everyone can have personal opinions. They are a little negative about Suja Uncle. That may be. I have seen the good side of Suja Uncle. I think he will do well."
Rifat became a Grandmaster in 2006, the third grandmaster of Bangladesh. Currently, he is unable to play chess regularly due to professional reasons but remains involved in chess. He attended an exchange event with the search committee, where he also gave his advice about the chess committee.
It was rumoured that he might be vice-chairman of the ad hoc committee, but he was not included. However, Rifat trusts the formed committee and hopes it will make an effort.
Regarding this, Rifat said, "Chess already has financial problems. These need to be addressed. The Ad Hoc Committee is taking charge in different circumstances. Their job will be to bring everything into order, whether it be financial or performance systems. The committee should decide what it wants to do and move forward."
