BD start Chess Olympiad today

The Bangladesh national chess teams today start their 41st Chess Olympiad 2014 mission which got underway in Tromso, Norway yesterday.  The men's team, which achieved their best performance in the last Olympiad in 2012 by finishing 33rd, are ranked 55th with an average rating of 2479 points in the Open section which will feature 178 teams. The five-man team comprises four Grand Masters -- Ziaur Rahman, Abdullah Al Rakib, Niaz Murshed, Enamul Hossain and International Master Minhazuddin Ahmed.

The women's team, which finished 52nd last time around, will be starting the tournament as the 59th ranked side (2031 average rating points) out of 139 teams. The women's team features two Women's International Masters -- Shamima Akter Liza and Rani Hamid -- and three Women's FIDE Masters in Nazrana Khan, Sharmin Shirin Sultana and Zakia Sultana.

Bangladesh's opponents in the first round will be determined after the captains' meeting prior to the beginning of matches today.

The men's team's performance stands to be boosted by the guidance of Russian-born Dutch GM Sergey Tiviakov, who was flown in a month ago to train the players for the Olympiad. 

The men's and women's teams left here for Tromso on July 30 for the Olympiad, which will end on August 14.  

The event got underway last night through a spectacular opening ceremony -- a grand visual show and performances by leading Norwegian musicians -- at the northern city of Tromso.