Concentration, Strategy and Pressure at 12th WUC Chess

GUIMARAES – At the 2nd day of the 12^th WUC Chess, the concentration of the players can be read from their faces since early in the morning. Thinking about the mistakes they made on the last round or new strategies to “mate” their opponents.

The 3rd round began with the usual serenity. The different cultures can be noted just by looking at the game stage as much for the athletes as for the spectators. The team of referees is also very notable. They can be differentiated just by looking at their red and customized shirt or by paying attention to their smooth moves around the competitors’ tables. A chess match can last 5 hours long.

In this 12^th edition of the WUC Chess the big surprise is the Brazilian team, especially Rodrigo Terao who is exceeding the expectations. The Polish team has the most victories in this championship.

During the day, a few EC members of FISU were in Guimarães, i.e. vice-presidents Leonz Eder, in the morning and later on Luciano Cabral.

Concentration and strategy are the key words of this event. When it seems to fail, the national flags above players heads works as an incentive to keep them on the game.

“Sports and Culture should always work together”

In an interview, FISU vice-president Leonz Eder said that “everything is going very well because there are a lot of experienced people working on this event”. The FISU vice-president also showed his appreciation for the opening ceremony, “It was an amazing opening ceremony, I liked it very much, especially the musical groups that played with the beautiful city centre of Guimarães as background”. The Swiss vice-president also explained how important a chess championship is for FISU. “We have a motto that is “Excellence in Mind and Body” and that’s why we have chess competitions; it belongs to the mind side. Chess is as important as futsal or other popular sports, so we try to offer the best for the players”. Mr. Eder added that World University Championships are “sort of a marketing tool for the universities to show the world that these institutions are not only about studies”. “We still have some weak parts that we are improving to have better relationships with organisations such as sport federations from each country”, added Leonz Eder. When asked about the difficulties in organizing this kind of event, the FISU vice-president mentioned that “the main issues are transportation, accommodation and food but the Local Organizing Committee is taking care of it pretty well”. In addition, “it’s also essential to provide Internet access to all the participants”, said Leonz Eder. In conclusion, the FISU vice-president referred that he was “really impressed by the city of Guimarães. The city centre has an amazing historical part. In my opinion, University Championships should always include sports and culture together”, Mr. Eder concluded.

(Source: Rita Magalhães, OC)

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