• Campus , Student
  • 03/04/2023

Noesis requests permanent chess tables for campus

Student Chess Club Eindhoven Noesis has a wish: chess tables scattered around campus as an easy way for chess lovers to get some relaxing time outdoors. TU/e’s groundskeeper says fixed-in-place, weatherproof tables aren’t in keeping with policy, which is why there will be chess board overlays for the existing mobile picknick tables instead.

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photo Vincent van den Hoogen

Every Wednesday, around thirty chess players come together at Luna for a chat, a game or a small tournament. “We are now focusing on organizing more and new activities. We are planning to increase the number of club evenings and host the IMC Dutch Student Chess Championship, and we would like a number of fixed-in-place chess tables on campus,” board member Jitze Orij says.

Chess tables

The idea to introduce chess tables to the campus has been floating around at Noesis for a while now. The club’s Commissioner of Internal Affairs has three favorite spots: “You could have a table on the Koeveld lawn, under the roof of the MetaForum market hall and on the terrace of Luna, which is our headquarters.” The pawns, rooks and other chess pieces would be available at the closest reception desk or bar. “You just leave your student or campus card there until you bring everything back,” Orij suggests.

Club night at Hubble. Photo | Noesis
Uniform furniture

But as a groundkeeper, Real Estate officer Thijs Mooren knows that fixed-in-place tables aren’t the preferred option. “We want campus furniture to be consistent. A big advantage to the picknick tables is that they can be moved. You can put them in the sun or the shade, just as you like. Carrying them around is the whole fun of it.”

This idea doesn’t gel with Noesis’ wish to have standard meeting places, but Jitze is nonetheless pleased with the quick solution. “People from Utrecht University let us know they had their chess tables designed by Studio Plakband. We also requested a quote from them, for twelve chess tables, based on estimated measurements for the picknick tables. This quote was submitted to Real Estate at the end of March. As soon as we get the green light we’ll see to it the chess tables are placed on campus.”

Dutch Student Chess Championship

Maybe the outside tables can already be used by visitors to the IMC Dutch Student Chess Championship, to be held at the Auditorium on Sunday April 30th, 2023. Noesis is organizing the championship together with sister association SSVN Tussen de Torens uit Nijmegen and is inviting all chess-playing students in the Netherlands. “We’ll play seven rounds of rapid games, followed by a social mixer,” Orij says. As the tournament is scheduled to take place in four weeks already, he advises those interested to sign up quickly.

 

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