Chess matches
went on concurrently
Being one of
the oldest and most popular games in the world, chess is played by millions
of people worldwide. It has undergone changes and adaptation throughout the
ages. The current form of the game emerged in Southern Europe during the
second half of the 15th century after evolving from similar, much older
games of Indian and Persian origin. Now, however, chess has undergone
another adaptation in the modern world where it can be played online,
breaking the barrier of geography among players.
On that
account, 37 players, forming 11 teams from both UTAR campuses took the
battle online at the UTAR Clash of UTARians (COU) Virtual International
Chess Competition 2021 held on 20 November 2021 via Lichess.org and Discord.
The competition was organised by the Department of Student Affairs (DSA).
UTAR Sungai
Long Campus emerged as the overall champion. The gold medal was won by team
“No Name” from UTAR Sungai Long Campus with 150 points. It was closely
followed by the silver medal team named “Survivors” from UTAR Kampar Campus
with 146 points while the bronze medal was won by “The Team Name” team from
UTAR Sungai Long Campus with 77 points.
Alfiha (top,
left) with gold medal team
“Overall, the
event went smoothly and players gave their best. The competition was also
beneficial because it helped to improve their technical, tactical and
psychological skills as a preparation for external competitions in the
future,” said DSA Sports & Recreation Unit Mohd Alfiha bin Mat Tarihan.
Lichess, the
platform used for the competition, is a free and open-sourced internet chess
server, run by a non-profit organisation of the same name. Users of the site
can play online chess anonymously and optionally register an account to play
rated games.
UTAR COU is an
annual competition held between UTAR Sungai Long Campus sports teams and
UTAR Kampar Campus sports teams. COU 2021 also served as one of the major
platforms for selecting the best UTAR team to represent the University in
higher-level competitions and games such as SUKIPT 2022 and open tournaments
for universities.
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