Rani Hamid of Bangladesh is a legend in the sport of chess in her country. At the age of 80, most people experience the ebb of their physical and mental faculties. The energy and skills of youth fade away. But Rani Hamid who celebrated her 80th birthday on 14th July, 2024, is taking part in the ongoing FIDE Chess Olympiad in Hungary and giving a hard fight to the world’s top players.
Many of her opponents are young enough to be her grandchildren but her craft, control and daring moves on the chessboard often take the younger players by surprise. Her participation in chess matches have taken her all across the world and she even played in a tournament in Hyderabad many years ago.
Playwright Bernard Shaw once said that by the age of 80, a person knows everything that he or she needs to know. The trouble is in remembering it. But Rani seems to have a perfect memory and can recall all the complex moves that she has mastered after learning the game from her neighbour who was one of the best chess players in Bangladesh long ago.
In the ongoing Chess Olympiad, two days ago Rani defeated Springer Leshay of Barbados in a third round match. The Bangladesh women’s team led by their invincible Rani, defeated Barbados with a score of 3.5-0.5. Thereafter Rani chalked up another victory over Rebatenne Boitshepo of Botswana.
Started chess late
Hailing from the city of Sylhet in Bangladesh, Rani took up the game of chess at a late stage of her life. She was 34 years old when she began playing the game seriously. By then she was already the mother of four children. But once she turned her focus to the chess board, she made rapid progress.
Her achievements
Rani Hamid won the national title in Bangladesh for six consecutive years from 1979 to 1984. She was also selected to represent Bangladesh in different tournaments. When she took part in the British championship in 1983, she emerged as the joint winner with Helen Millligan.
Beginning from 1984, she played in all World Chess Olympiads and was awarded the title of FIDE Women International Master (WIM) in 1985. In 2017, she won the gold medal in the Commonwealth Chess championship in Delhi and the next year she won the “Journalists Choice Award” at the Chess World Cup 2018 in Russia.
Husband was an army officer
At birth she was named Syeda Jasimunessa Khatun and was affectionately called Rani by her elders. After marrying an army officer, Lt. Col. M.A. Hamid, she came to be known as Rani Hamid. Her husband was himself a keen sports lover and often organised army sports events. The gentleman passed away in 2008.
But their offspring turned out to be good sportsmen too. One of their sons is Kaiser Hamid, a former football player who donned the jersey of Mohammedan Sporting Dhaka, and represented Bangladesh for almost a decade in several tournaments.
Another son named Sohel Hamid was the national squash champion and a third son Shahjahan Hamid was a national handball and football player. The fourth offspring is a daughter named Jabin Hamid.
Rani Hamid is a great fan of India’s Viswanathan Anand and despite her advanced years, she still retains the youthful enthusiasm of a young player. Nowadays she has no target in mind. She told the media recently that she has achieved everything that she wanted to achieve. “Now I play for the love of the game. I love to face and overcome any challenge and this is what spurs me on,” she said.
Inspiration to the others
Rani has become an inspirational figure among chess players. Another player named Nazrana Khan said a few years ago: “Rani apa is different from many others. She has the fighting spirit to become a champion even in her advanced age. No one can do that unless he or she has complete devotion and dedication to the sport.” For all her achievements, Rani Hamid still remains a humble and affable person which is the hallmark of a true champion.
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