Singaraja- Hundreds of students participated in the Ganesha Grand Chess Tournament (GGCT) National Level held by the Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha (Undiksha) Chess Student Activity Unit (UKM). This event was opened by the Vice Rector for Student Affairs, Alumni, and Public Relations Prof. Dr. I Ketut Sudiana, M.Kes, Saturday (15/2/2025).
The VIIIth event was attended by 299 participants from various regions in Indonesia. The categories consisted of SD / MI, SMP / MTs, SMA / SMK / MA, and general categories.
According to the Chairman of the Organizing Committee, Komang Try Artha Utama Tusan, this event is an initiative to increase public interest in chess. This is in line with the theme of this year’s event, “Building Future Chess Players with FOCUS (Foundation, Optimism, Creativity, Unity, Strength).”
On this occasion, the Chairman of Percasi Buleleng Nyoman Suarjana, S.Pd., M.Pd. was also present, who gave high appreciation for the implementation of this activity. He considered that this activity really helped the Percasi Buleleng program in finding talented chess athletes in Buleleng, especially since this is a routine activity that is carried out every year.
Undiksha Vice Rector, Prof. Ketut Sudiana stated that this event received very high public interest. This is evidenced by the limited number of participants in this year’s event due to the large number of participations from the contestants. The number of participants this year has increased compared to last year, which is an opportunity for UKM Chess Undiksha and Percasi Buleleng. He also expects support from Percasi Buleleng so that this activity can be improved in terms of quality and quantity in the future.
Prof. Sudiana also emphasized that chess is a low-cost sport but not cheap. “It is cheap because the facilities are already owned by the participants,” he said.
In the future, this event is expected to advance to the international level. The winner of this event will not only get a trophy. But for SMA / SMK / MA class XII participants who won 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place can be accepted to study at Undiksha through independent track without a test, except for study programs at the Faculty of Medicine.
This tournament was closed on Sunday (16/2/2025). Its organization is expected to not only provide valuable experience for the participants, but also contribute to the development of chess sports in Indonesia, especially in producing reliable future chess players. (hms)
