United News of Bangladesh

Grand Master Ziaur Rahman maintained his lead in the Walton International Rating Chess Tournament, securing 7.5 points after the eighth and penultimate round of matches held at the Bangladesh Chess Federation in the capital Monday. FM Mohammad Javed remained in the second spot with 7 points. IM Mohammad Minhaz Uddin, FM FM Tahsin Tajwar Zia and CM Manon Reja Neer shared the third spot with 6.5 points each. FM Mehdi Hasan Parag, FM Khandaker Aminul Islam, CM Nayem Haque, CM Md Sharif Hossain, WFM Noshin Anjum, Md Masum Hossain, Jabed Al Azad, Reasat-E-Noor and WCM Ahmed Walijah remained in the fourth position after earning 6 points each. In today's matches, Ziaur beat Nayem, FM Mohammad Javed beat Mehdi, FM Tahsin Tajwar Zia beat Md Sagor, CM Manon Reja Neer beat FM Syed Mahfuzur Rahman, IM Mohammad Minhaz Uddin beat Md Abu Hanif, and FM Khandaker Aminul Islam drew with FM Subrota Bisawa. Also, Sharif beat Abdul Momin, Masum beat Nurul Islam, Noshin beat CM Jamal Uddin, Jabed beat SK Rashedul Hasan, Reasat beat Tutul Dhar, and Walijah beat Sabyasachi Mandal. The ninth and the last round matches will be held on Tuesday from 2pm at the same venue.  

Grand Master  Ziaur Rahman maintained his solo lead in the Walton International Rating Chess Tournament securing 6.5 after the 7th round matches held at Bangladesh Chess Federation Hall-Room here on Sunday. Three players share the 2nd position with 6 points each.  They are: FM Mehdi Hasan Parag, CM Nayem Haque and FM Mohammad Javed.  Seven Players share the 3rd slot with 5.5 points each.  They are: IM Mohammad Minhaz Uddin, FM FM Tahsin Tajwar Zia, CM Manon Reja Neer, FM Khandaker Aminul Islam, FM Syed Mahfuzur Rahman, Md. Abu Hanif, CM Md Sharif Hossain.  In the day's 7th round matches, GM Ziaur Rahman drew with IM Mohammad Minhaz Uddin, CM Manon Reja Neer drew with FM Khandaker Aminul Islam, FM Mehdi Hasan Parag beat WFM Noshin Anjum, CM Nayem Haque beat Md. Masum Hossain, FM Mohammad Javed beat FM Subrota Biswas, FM Tahsin Tajwar Zia beat CM Mahtabuddin Ahmed, FM Syed Mahfuzur Rahman beat Md. Sariatullah, Md Abu Hanif beat A B. Bappi CM Md Sharif Hossain beat Wadifa Ahmed, Sagor beat CM Chanchal Kumar Ghosh The 8th round matches will be held on Monday from 2:00 pm at the same venue.

Four players shared the top spot in the Walton International Rating Chess Tournament, securing four points each after the fourth round matches at the Bangladesh Chess Federation hall room in the capital Thursday. The players are GM Ziaur Rahman, CM Manon Reja Neer, FM Mehdi Hasan Parag and FM Subrota Biswas. IM Mohammad Minhaz Uddin, FM Tahsin Tajwar Zia, FM Khandaker Aminul Islam, CM Nayem Haqye, Sh. Rashedul Hasan, Md Nasir Uddin, and Md Sariatullah shared the second spot with 3.5 points each. In today's matches, GM Ziaur Rahman beat FM Mohammad Javed, CM Manon Reja Neer beat Md Masum Hossain, IM Mohammad Minhaz Uddin drew with FM Khandaker Aminul Islam, FM Mehdi Hasan Parag beat Rubel Hossain, FM Subrota Biswas beat Md Abu Hanif, FM Tahsin Tajwar Zia beat Mohammed Enayet Hossain, Md Nasir Uddin beat CM Chanchal Kumar Ghosh, CM Mahtabuddin Ahmed drew with WCM Ahmed Walijah, and Md Sariatullah beat Md Mahbubur Rahman. The fifth round matches will be held on Friday from 2pm at the same venue.

Ten players shared the top spot after third round matches of the Walton International Rating Chess Tournament, securing 10 points each, at the Bangladesh Chess Federation hall room in the capital Wednesday. They players are GM Ziaur Rahman, IM Mohammad Minhaz Uddin, CM Manon Reja Neer, FM Mehdi Hasan Parag, FM Subrota Biswas, FM Khandaker Aminul Islam, FM Mohammad Javed, Md Abu Hanif, Md Masum Hossain and Rubel Hossain. In today's matches, GM Zia beat Md Siddiqur Rahman, CM Neer beat Tutul Dhar, IM Minhaz beat Md Sagor, FM Parag beat Feroz Ahmed, FM Subrota beat FM Md Saif Uddin, WCM Ahmed Walijah drew with CM Nayem Haque, FM Aminul beat Abdul Momin, Rubel Hossain beat CM Md Sharif Hossain, FM Javed beat WFM Noshin Anjum, Hanif beat Sangram Das, Md Sajidul Haque drew with Siam Chowdhury, Md Sariatullah drew with Md Nasir Uddin, Masum beat Md Zahid Choudhury, and FM Tahsin Tajwar Zia beat Din Mohammad. The fourth round matches will be held on Thursday from 2pm at the same venue.  

Chittagong Abahani Limited emerged champions in the CJKS-Ispahani Premier Cricket League'2022-23 while CPA Sports Association finished runners-up after the closing match at the MA Aziz Stadium in the port city on Wednesday. Deputy Commissioner of Chattogram and President of Chittagran Jila Krira Sangstha (CJKS) Abul Bashar Mohammad Fakruzzaman was the chief guest at the day's closing function and later he distributed the prizes. General Manager of the league sponsor Ispahani Group of Industries Shah Moinuddin Hasan was also present at the function as special guest.

Bangladesh CM Sakline Mostafa Sajid made a draw with Indian WIM Chandreyee Hajra in the 5th round match of the 1st Mayor's Trophy Indore International Grandmasters Chess Tournament held in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India on Tuesday.  After the day's 5th round match,  Sakline Sajid have secured 3 points from  five matches.  Bangladeshi GM Enamul Hossain Razib earned 2.5 points , IM Abu Sufian Shakil and CM Ikramul Haq Siam of Bangladesh earned 2 points each. In the day's other 5th round matches, GM Enamul Hussain Razib won against Antony Jesumarian Leslie of India, IM Abu Sufian Shakil drew with Rachit H Gurnani of India while CM Ikramul Haq Siam lost to Arul Annandh of India.     

  Bangladeshi International Master Mohammad Fahad Rahman made a good start in the Fagernes International Chess'2023 beating Malta's Candidate Master Jake Mizzi in the first round match held in Oslo, Norway on Sunday. The 2nd round match scheduled to start on tonight (Monday night) Bangladesh time. IM Mohammad Fahad Rahman due to play Norwegian Grandmaster Frode Olav Olsen Urkedal in the day:s 2nd round. A total 92 players from 22 countries, including 13 Grandaasters, 21 International Masters, 3 Women Grandmasters and 1 Women International Master are taking part in the event

WWE and the company that runs Ultimate Fighting Championship will combine to create a $21.4 billion sports entertainment company. A new publicly traded company will house UFC and World Wrestling Entertainment brands, with Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. taking a 51% controlling interest in the new company. Existing WWE shareholders will hold a 49% stake. The companies put the enterprise value of UFC at $12.1 billion and WWE’s value at $9.3 billion. The new business, which does not yet have a name, will be lead by Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel. Vince McMahon, executive chairman at WWE, will serve in the same role at the new company. Dana White will continue as president of UFC and Nick Khan will be president at WWE. “Together, we will be a $21+ billion live sports and entertainment powerhouse with a collective fanbase of more than a billion people and an exciting growth opportunity,” McMahon said in a prepared statement Monday. He also provided some idea of where the focus of the new company will be, saying that it will look to maximize the value of combined media rights, enhance sponsorship monetization, develop new forms of content and pursue other strategic mergers and acquisitions to further bolster their brands. A synergy already exists talent wise between WWE and UFC, with stars such as Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey crossing over between the two businesses. The deal between Endeavor and WWE catapults WWE into a new era, after functioning as a family-run business for decades. McMahon purchased Capitol Wrestling from his father in 1982, and took the regional wrestling business to a national audience with the likes of wrestling stars such as Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The company, which changed its name to World Wrestling Federation and later World Wrestling Entertainment, hosted its first WrestleMania in 1985. The announcement of the WWE transaction arrives after McMahon, the founder and majority shareholder of WWE, returned to the company in January and said that it could be up for sale. Rumors swirled about who would possibly be interested in buying WWE, with Endeavor, Disney, Fox, Comcast, Amazon and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund all in the mix. Media industry analysts viewed WWE as an attractive target given its global reach and loyal fanbase, which includes everyone from minors to seniors and a wide range of incomes. The company held its marquee event, WrestleMania, over the weekend. Last year, WWE booked revenue of $1.3 billion. The company is also a social media powerhouse. It surpassed 16 billion social video views in the final quarter of last year. It has nearly 94 million YouTube subscribers and has more than 20 million followers on TikTok. Its female wrestlers comprise five out of the top 15 most followed female athletes in the world, across Facebook, Twitter & Instagram, led by Ronda Rousey with 36.1 million followers. WWE had more than 7.5 billion digital and social media views in January and February of this year, up 15% from the same time frame a year ago. The new company plans to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the “TKO” ticker symbol. Its board will have 11 members, with six being appointed by Endeavor and five being appointed by WWE. “We like the assets of UFC and also WWE in a world where linear TV is losing market share to streaming, thus live sport content is in high demand,” wrote Jeffries analyst Randal Konik said in a note to clients. The transaction, which was approved by the boards of Endeavor and WWE, is targeted to close in the second half of the year. It still needs regulatory approval. Shares of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., based in Stamford, Connecticut, are up 33% this year, but fell more than 6% before the opening bell on Monday. Shares of Endeavor, based in Beverly Hills, California, rose more than 4%.  

Bangladeshi International Master Abu Sufian Shakil earned 1.5 points after the 2nd round match of the 1st Mayor's Trophy Indore International Grandmasters Chess Tournament in Madhya Pradesh, India on Sunday. Bangladeshi GM Enamul Hossain Razib scored one point, CM Sakline Mostafa Sajid scored 0.5 point while CM Ikramul Haq Siam yet to open the account after the day's 2nd round. In the 2nd round matches IM Abu Sufian Shakil drew with Indian GM Deepan Chakraborty, GM Enamul Hussain Razib drew with India's Nithin Babu, CM Sakline Mostafa Sajid drew with GM Mirzoeb Azer of Azerbaijan and CM Ikramul Haq Siam lost to Arush in Chitre of India.

The quarterfinals of the Federation Cup Football begins on Tuesday (April 4) with league champions Bashundhara Kings taking on Muktijoddha Sangsad KC in the first quarterfinal on the day at 3:15 pm at the Bir Shrestha Fl Lt Matiur Stadium in Munshiganj. Dhaka Abahani Limited will face Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club in the 2nd quarterfinal on April 11, also at 3:15 pm at the Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium in Gopalganj. Dhaka Mohammedan SC will encounter Chittagong Abahani Ltd in the 3rd quarterfinal on April 18 at 3:15 pm at the Shaheed Dhirendranath Dutta Stadium in Cumilla. In the 4th and last quarterfinal, Sheikh Russel KC will play Rahmatganj MFS on May 2 at 3:15 pm at Bir Shrestha Fl Lt Matiur Stadium in Munshiganj. The first semifinal will be held on May 9 at 3:15 pm at the Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium in Gopalganj while the 2nd semifinal scheduled for May 16, also at 3:15 pm at the Shaheed Dhirendranath Dutta Stadium in Cumilla. The final match between two winning semifinalists billed for May 30 at 3:15 pm at the Shaheed Dhirendranath Dutta Stadium in Cumilla while the 3rd- place deciding match between two losing semifinalists will be held on May 23 at the Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium in Gopalganj.