26/05/2026
IM Mohammad Fahad Rahman has taken another major step toward the Grandmaster title, securing his second GM norm in Istanbul, Turkey.
But behind the result is a more personal story - one of form, pressure, near misses, and the belief that his best chess is still ahead.
READ HIS THOUGHTS ⬇️
"If I’m being completely honest, I don’t think I played anywhere near my best level in Turkey. If anything, it was at most my average level. I’m not being arrogant or showing ego, I’m just being honest. Praise be to Allah, I still managed to come very close to a GM norm in the 1st tournament, a win in the final round would have secured the GM norm there, and in the 2nd tournament, I achieved the GM norm.
I’m happy that even with my average form, I was able to score a GM norm and come close in the 1st event. Honestly, I think I played much better in 2024. That year I scored my 1st GM norm, played insanely well in the Dubai Global Challenge, had the best performance among Bangladeshi players in the Olympiad, and missed another GM norm by just half a point in Hungary. Even though I played better overall in 2024, I was just unlucky not to convert more norms. Out of 4 opportunities, I only managed to score 1 GM norm, while in the others I missed by just half a point.
Maybe it was more of a psychological issue back then. But I feel like recently, I either don’t have that issue anymore, or at least it’s much less than before. That’s probably why, even in average form, I managed to put together two strong tournaments back to back, because I was playing every game to win, even with the black pieces, in situations where a draw would have been completely fine.
Today I’m flying to Mongolia for the Asian Continental Chess Championship. Let’s hope I can get back to the level I had during the Dubai Global Challenge or the 2024 Olympiad. That kind of form, combined with the improved ability to handle pressure I’ve developed recently, could be a very dangerous combination."
