World University Championship Mind Sports starts next Monday!

Bydgoszcz, POLAND – With only one week to go for the beginning of the 2020 FISU World University Championship Mind Sports online, the 550+ registered players are busy sharpening their skills ahead of the event.

The online Chess event will see the participation of 400 athletes representing 78 teams from 32 countries, while Bridge has 151 athletes representing 26 teams from 13 countries. In total, 40 countries and 218 universities will be represented. The draws and full entry lists are now available on the official website .

Jakub Patreuha, runner-up at the 2018 World University Championship BridgeWith just days to go, we asked three representatives of the Polish delegation to share with us their views about the event being switched to an online format and what their techniques are, to prepare for the championship.

Jakub Patreuha, 2018 World University Bridge Vice Champion (team classification), says that they are practicing a few times a week, both live and on the internet as they haven’t had too many occasions to play online professionally. In his opinion the new event’s format will also be a new experience for many participants.

“The online formula is the most fair way of competing as it minimalises the risk of cheating,” says Jakub. The Polish bridge player admits that he and his brother Patryk, who will also participate in this championship, are quite an experienced duo. During the last World University Bridge Championship in 2018 they were awarded second place.

“Now is the time to change the silver medals into gold ones,” he adds.  

Marcin Molenda, runner-up (team) at the 2018 World University Championship ChessMarcin Molenda, 2018 World University Chess Vice Champion (team classification), also tells us about his preparations: “I try to use the last days before the event to improve the power of my game and prepare new openings.”

“The whole Polish team is victory-oriented,” he says. “We have a pretty good chance of winning this year’s championship as we won silver medal in the previous edition.”

Asked about the event’s online formula, Marcin admitted that playing chess on the Internet is highly popular; however, the same cannot be said about organising championships of such high importance. Moreover, he states that the format of the event will not allow the participants to show off all of their skills, as the time of the game is limited; yet, many new and strong teams will be given the chance to participate.

Anna Kubicka, 2019 Polish Universities Chess Champion, admits that the participation in this year’s World University Championship Mind Sports online is a challenge for her.

It will be the first time she represents Poland in an international academic competition.

Anna Kubicka, 2019 Polish Universities Chess ChampionRegarding the event’s formula she says the following: “The COVID-19 pandemic has strongly influenced and limited sports. Many competitions have been canceled.

However, unlike many other sporting disciplines, chess and bridge provide the opportunity to participate in championships from the safety of our homes. Having the possibility to compete online is a big advantage of chess.”

Anna also admits that the Polish representatives are well prepared for the competition and their chances to win the gold medal are high.

With just one week to the start of the championship, the coming days will be full of eagerness and emotions among the participants. This Thursday, the team captains will participate in the General Technical Meeting and competition starts on Monday, 26 October.