Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: State University Higher School of Economics – State University Higher School of Economics –
© Maxim Kovalevich
The HSE hosted the student festival “Career Gambit”, organized byHse Chess Club, which became an unconventional platform for dialogue between students and employers. The opponents not only excitedly built game strategies, but also talked about careers and real employment opportunities. It turned out that playing chess is not just an intellectual competition, but also an opportunity to get to know each other better, discuss professional interests and look at future cooperation from a new angle.
The festival brought together more than 100 people, most of whom took part in the tournament, where 16 teams from employer companies and the same number of student teams competed.
Over the course of seven rounds, there were intense battles for the main trophy, which went to the Wildberries team.
The festival gave an opportunity not only for experienced chess players to compete, but also for those who had never sat down at the board to join the world of chess. For them, Pavel Zaitsev, senior coach of the HSE Chess Club, former member of the HSE and RSUH teams, postgraduate student of the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, held a master class and told many interesting facts about the game and the basic rules.
Those who did not participate in the tournament but wanted to try their hand at chess had the opportunity to compete in a simultaneous game with Nikita Buts, FIDE chess master, executive director at Sber, Founder
All festival participants noted that it was an interesting experience that brought together like-minded people from different fields for a common interesting activity and provided students with another opportunity to plan their career trajectory.
“As an amateur, I am pleased that chess is gaining a presence in the HSE intellectual landscape,” said Vice-Rector Salambek Dombaev, a member of the HSE team. “This time, the guys managed to assemble a very interesting lineup of students, HSE employees, and colleagues from the industry. The tournament was a success. Personally, I lost all the games, but I received a boost and motivation to continue improving my skills in the game. I am sure that I am not alone in my desire. I would like to express my gratitude to our student chess association for the excellent organization of the event and the atmosphere. At the Career Gambit festival, I talked to HSE students and was impressed by their level. It was not just a tournament, but a mix of games and career talks. The students caught insights from professionals and learned about internships and opportunities in companies.”
“We are always looking for new formats of interaction between employers and students to ensure effective communication,” shared Olga Gaevskaya, Head of Career Development and Alumni Relations Office. — It is not always possible to find out the answers to the questions that concern students at official meetings. Therefore, when the HSE Chess Club suggested holding a chess tournament between companies and HSE students, we thought — this is what we need!”
The tournament involved 16 HSE partners. These are top-level specialists in their subject areas, and despite the heated competition at the chessboard, the students were able to meet their future potential employers and also play games as if they were solving work problems with their colleagues.
Pavel Salman, Team Lead Computer Vision in the Wildberries PVZ quality control team, captain of the winning team, said that it was valuable for him to sit down at the board after a long break and meet interesting people. “The organization of the event is perfect, it was a pleasure to play,” he says. “I didn’t expect to see so many teams, it turned out to be really large-scale. I wish you to continue growing further, to develop the chess community (it’s really cool!) We will be happy to take part in future tournaments. For our Wildberries team, this is only the second inter-corporate chess competition, and we are glad that we managed to achieve such success in the conditions of competition with such strong teams! From the first rounds, we managed to pull ahead a little in points, but then it became difficult to hold on. Before the last round, about seven pursuers almost caught up with us. I think this is an obvious indicator that many worthy and equal teams gathered, and, perhaps, we were just a little lucky in the end.”
Alexey Demyanenko, Director of Products and Tariffs at PJSC Rostelecom, talked to HSE students at the festival and was impressed by their level. “It wasn’t just a tournament, but a mix of games and career talks. Students caught insights from professionals and learned about internships and opportunities in companies. At Rostelecom, we have a large internship program, but unfortunately, many students don’t know about it yet, which means we need to better inform them about our opportunities. The Rostelecom team took second place, and for us it was a great experience and a chance to practice gaming skills and at the same time share information about a career at Rostelecom. Chess is not only about strategy, but also about pumping up the future! And we pumped up a lot at the chess festival at HSE,” he said.
Alexey Novikov, a representative of T2, was glad to learn that HSE has such a large-scale chess club. “I would like to note the high level of play, and after the tournament there was an opportunity to talk to students about the possibilities of working in the company,” he noted. “It would be great if this format becomes traditional. I wish further development to the chess movement at HSE.”
Aleksandr Chelekhovsky, a teacher and member of the HSE team, enjoys participating in atmospheric tournaments in the atrium. “I don’t really like online games, but I always try to get to our tournaments,” he says. “I met a lot of student and colleague friends who often go to such tournaments. It’s great that many teams from different companies gathered. It seems to me that HSE is making big steps towards expanding and popularizing chess. I am ready to support these steps and continue to participate in the activities of the chess club.”
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