Laurier’s chess club is excited for the upcoming opportunity as the school was selected to host the official national chess tournament. Universities from all across Canada will be attending the Senate and Board Chamber next weekend to compete in the tournament.
Organizers Anthony Trinh and Josh Terry are eager for the event, as they see it as a big opportunity for the growth of the club. “We are a smaller school – however, we were honoured to receive support from the University of Waterloo’s chess club, the VP’s Office of Academics at Laurier as well as the Laurier Faculty of Science” said Trinh.
As of now, a majority of universities in Ontario have registered for the event and Dalhousie University in Halifax has mentioned their intent to fly over.
The tournament will take place over two full days on Saturday, Jan. 18 and Sunday Jan. 19 and will be officiated by the Chess Federation of Canada. “The idea is that each university will compete as teams and every participant will get an official ranking from the federation” Trinh added
Trinh and Terry mentioned that the event is very open, as anyone can join, and they strongly encourage new members (even if you have never played chess). “All of our players are willing to help and if we achieve a higher turnout we are hoping to host chess lessons in the future.” said both organizers.
For now, the chess club at Laurier hosts weekly games in the science atrium and they have been encouraged by the recent turnout in 2019. Anthony and Josh mentioned that the turnout at the club fair was very good and their last meeting, received a fair amount of viewers.
The tournament is a great opportunity for anyone interested in showing off their chess skills or learning how to play chess. With Laurier being selected as the host school, the organizers are going out of their way to prepare for the event, which will include refreshments and prizes for the winners.
As the club itself has struggled in the past with support, the main goal for this tournament , as Trinh stated, is to “expand the club and bring chess back into the Laurier community.”
