Manon becomes Champion in MTB International Master’s Chess Tournament at IUB

Bangladesh’s highest rated International Master (IM) Manon Reja Neer has become Champion in the MTB International Masters Chess Tournament, held at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) on December 14-23, 2025.

The 10-day international tournament, which featured three International Masters and three Fide Masters (FM) from Bangladesh, India and Nepal, was hosted by IUB’s Division of Student Activities (DoSA) and the IUB Chess Club, with technical support from the Bangladesh Chess Federation, according to a press release.

IM Manon secured the top spot with 6.5 points in nine games. FM Sakline Mostafa Sajid became Runner-up with 6 points and Bivor Adak (from India) emerged third, also with six points. IM Minhaz Uddin Sagor secured the 4th place with 5.5 points. They received prize money worth BDT 40,000, BDT 30,000, BDT 20,000 and BDT 10,000 respectively.

Other players from Bangladesh included IM Abu Sufian Shakil, FM Khondokar Aminul Islam, and Amit Bikram Roy (from IUB).From India, there were Arpon Das (Jr), and FM Singh Gurpreet Pal. Nepal was represented by Silwal Purushottam.

South Asia’s first Grandmaster Niaz Murshed, who is also the Advisor to the IUB Chess Club, was the tournament’s host. Mutual Trust Bank PLC (MTB) was the title sponsor. Md. Haroon Or Rashid, Chief Arbiter of Bangladesh Chess Federation, oversaw the event. He was assisted by Mr. Mishan Baskota, assistant arbiter from Nepal.

The closing ceremonywas graced by Captain Syed Sujauddin Ahmed, President of the Bangladesh Chess Federation; Md. Bakhteyer Hossain, Deputy Managing Director, MTB PLC;Prof. Daniel W. Lund, Pro Vice Chancellor, IUB; and Atif M Safi, Head, DoSA, IUB.

Earlier, the opening ceremony was held on December 14, 2025, at the IUB Multipurpose Hall, the main venue of the tournament. GM Niaz Murshed; Didar A Husain, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of IUB; Trustees Towhid Samad, Rashed Chowdhury,  A Matin Chowdhury, Mohammad Zakaria Khan, Dr. Husne Ara Ali, and Md Tanveer Madar attended the event. Vice Chancellor Prof. M. Tamim, Pro Vice Chancellor Prof. Lund, deans and members of the IUB senior management were also in attenance.

The event was further graced by Dr. Shoeb Reaz Alam, Vice President, Bangladesh Chess Federation; and Md. Bakhteyer Hossain. A highlight of the opening ceremony was an exhibition match between Trustee Towhid Samad and GM Niaz Murshed.