The Kings and Queens of UCD

Chess is one of the world’s oldest sports. Evolving into one of the world’s foremost games of strategy and analysis, it has enthralled millions.

However, despite its illustrious history, it has long been ridiculed and mocked for daring to call itself a sport. I talked with the auditor of the UCD Chess Society, Catherine Hearne, to discuss how the society works, if it is a sport, and how the society has grown in recent years.

In dealing with one of the main sources of confusion on campus: the club vs society debate, Hearne says that “We function as a mixture of a club and society but we are officially titled as a society.” Nevertheless, they enter a myriad of competitions every year.

Two teams are entered in the Leinster Chess League. Added to that, the Chess Society recently took part in a national competition in Galway. They had several fantastic results with Hugh O’Connor winning the minor section, beating UCD’s own Ritik Verma in the final round to claim the title.

Confronting the question head on Hearne says that she “definitely” sees chess as a sport. People who don’t play chess don’t see, and don’t understand, the extent of the preparation that goes into the game. “It’s simply not moving the pieces around the board aimlessly.

One has to practice and train their mind to analyse positions, to remember countless openings or endgames, all of which could mean a win or a loss. To be able to concentrate for around three and a half hours on one game is a skill acquired with practice. You have to train your brain the same way a bodybuilder trains their muscles.

Perhaps it’s hard to see a few friendly games as sport, but when you see a chess tournament it’s hard to see it as anything else.”

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