IM Nubairshah Shaikh wins 1st SAARC Open Chess Championship at Dhaka

International Master Nubairshah Shaikh of India had won the first 1st SAARC Open Chess Championships held at Dhaka, Bangladesh between 24 November to 4 December 2019. He scored 7.5 points in 9 rounds to clinch Gold Medal and a Cash Prize of US$ 3500/-

Nubairshah, who was seeded third, started well in the tournament winning the first four rounds. In the fifth round, however, his winning campaign was briefly halted by Bangladeshi GM Hossain Enamul. He quickly recouped his momentum to score three consecutive victories. He finished with a half-point lead over nearest rivals IM Prantik Roy, GM Ziaur Rahman  of Poland and Subrota Biswas.

Interestingly, IM Prantik Roy, also from India, finished second in the championship.

Final Ranking after 9 Rounds