Determined chess players of every level hailing from all over the state gathered on Drake’s campus this weekend for an official United States Chess Federation open tournament.
The Drake Chess Festival began competition at 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 27 in Parents’ Hall. The event was sponsored by the Iowa State Chess Association (ISCA) and the Drake Minds Sports Organization (DMSO), formerly known as the Drake Chess Club.
Saturday marked the first tournament of its kind on Drake’s campus, which has never hosted a chess event like this before.
ISCA At-Large Director Bill Broich was the first to approach the university about the possibility of a tournament last semester.
“I’ve been playing chess in tournaments for 20 years, and I started directing tournaments four or five years ago,” Broich said. “Some of the players in the tournaments I competed against went to school at Drake. I wanted to get chess started there.”
Broich was inspired to begin the competition by the success of the Drake Chess Team in the 1970s, which once placed seventh in the nation. After approval from the university, Broich went to the DMSO to pitch his idea for tournament play.
“We’re working the tournament together,” Broich said. “The student organization is sponsoring the tournament and promoting it, and I’m running it according to the United States Chess Federation’s tournament rules.”
Vee Ping Voon, a senior actuarial science and finance major and president of DMSO, finalized the details of the tournament with the Student Life Center and then set out to publicize the event, beginning with the club’s name.
“Near the end of last semester, we changed from the Drake Chess Club to Drake Minds Sports Organization because we do focus on more than just chess,” Voon said. “We play pool, Chinese checkers, Monopoly; all strategy games. This new name encompasses all that we do and what we play.”
The festival featured three rated tournaments based on the United States Chess Federation’s rules. Advanced players could join either the ISCA mini-qualifier or the reserve tournament, while novice players were eligible for the rated beginner open tournament.
Players registered for all tournaments starting at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday. The ISCA and reserve tournament cost $30 at the door or $20 if the player pre-registered in the Student Life Center. The beginner open costs $15 at the door and was discounted to $10 with pre-registry.
“To play in the rated tournament, you have to be a member of the U.S. Chess Federation,” Broich said. “If there are enough students who don’t want to join the federation or pay, we will have an unrated tournament just for the fun.”
Voon believes the tournament gained more exposure for the DMSO and increased awareness about chess across campus.
“I hope more Drake students know about what we do,” Voon said. “Maybe some students discovered that they have similar interests with our club.”
The DMSO meets on Thursday evenings by Pomerantz from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. and anyone who is interested is welcome to attend.
