UTAR students triumph at KaSUGI Team Chess Championship
Four UTAR students emerged as champion of the IPT category in the KaSUGI Team Chess Championship which was held from 14 to 15 July at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur.
The quartet from UTAR Perak campus, which comprised Keok Kai En, Lee Fei Xian, Tee Han Kang and Tham Su Tian, bagged home prize money worth RM800, a challenge trophy, and four individual medals. Both Keok and Lee are Foundation students whilst Tee majors in Microbiology and Tham in Biotechnology.
Apparently, they were buoyed by their newfound success and fame. "We were over the moon," enthused Tham, who spearheaded the team to resounding victory in a competition that saw five teams slogging it out. The remaining teams in the fray were from Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Machang, Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP).
Tham professed that his 'love affair' for chess blossomed since nine, after his brother bought him a chess set. He has been dabbling in the game thereafter, and is no stranger to chess tug-of-wars. In primary school, he was a surefire hit for state level chess tournaments. The championship was made possible by Malaysian Chess Federation.
Winning Sensations: Chess whiz Tham (far right) and his team members pose with their prizes.