Fahad Rahman moved closer to becoming Bangladesh’s next Grandmaster after securing his second Grandmaster norm at an international event in Turkey.
The International Master reached the milestone after winning the FUBY Academy Novy Norm Chess Tournament Series 3 in Istanbul on Wednesday.
Fahad finished with seven points from nine rounds. In the final round, he held Georgian International Master Gaioz Nigalidze to a draw. The result gave him enough points to win the event and seal his second GM norm.
He earned his first GM norm at the Hanoi Grandmasters Chess Tournament in Vietnam in March 2024.
Fahad now needs one more GM norm and a FIDE rating of 2500 to become Bangladesh’s sixth Grandmaster.
The eighth and ninth rounds took place on Wednesday. Fahad entered the day with strong form. He defeated Iran’s International Master Pour Agha Bala Amirreza in the eighth round. The win took him to 6.5 points and left him needing only a draw in the final round.
The tournament featured 10 players from several countries. The lineup included three Grandmasters, four International Masters, two FIDE Masters and one Candidate Master from Bangladesh, Georgia, Hungary, Iran, Poland and Turkey.
Fahad is also receiving financial support from Pakiza Group for three international tournaments in Istanbul.
