By David Yagudayev, Arts and Culture Editor
On Sunday, January 28, 2024, college students from over 10 universities competed in the inaugural New York Intercollegiate Chess Championship (NYICC) held at Macaulay Honors College. The tournament was initiated by student presidents of chess clubs to create a space for students to come together and play chess in a fun, competitive and social environment. The tournament’s format consisted of two rapid games (15+5 time control) followed by two blitz games (5+2 time control). The tournament also featured four sections to accommodate all types of chess players. Over 19 students from Yeshiva University participated in the event, and had two student winners: Jaden Jubas won 1st place in the Novice Section, and Uli Stechler won 2nd place in the intermediate section. Students from many different colleges competed in the event, including City College of New York, Queens College, Baruch College, Hunter College, Lehman College, Fashion Institute of Technology, Macaulay Honors College, Fordham University, Yeshiva University, New York University and Pace University.
Uli Stechler, Vice President of the YU Chess Club at Wilf Campus, stated: “It was a great event, and I really enjoyed competing, meeting new people, and I hope that the YU Chess Club can also host such an event on campus at some point. I really believe that this has great potential to grow and develop in-person chess amongst NYC college students.”
Andrii Shypachov, the organizer of the first event, did an amazing job running the event and is optimistic on the future of NYICC events. “Despite some difficulties, the tournament was a great success. We are already working on future tournaments as well as some other events and can’t wait to see more people interested in in-person chess!”
The NYICC has plans to host more events on various college campuses across NYC, and organizers believe the future for in-person chess collegiate events will only get better.