Approximately 605 million people play a game that originated in India 1,500 years ago, and about 70 percent of the adult population has played at some point in its life, according to YouGov.com. The Shippensburg University Chess team will be heading to Spain for a tournament to continue to be a part of that 605 million.

In January, members of the team headed to Hungary to play in their first international tournament. Four countries were represented at the tournament.

“We spent quite a bit of time getting it all setup and getting the stars to align, but it went fantastic,” said club president Anthony Ciarlante. “As soon as we got back from [Hungary] we were like ‘let’s see where else can we go.’”

Searching for a new tournament, the team found the Sunway Sitges International Chess Festival in Sitges, Spain. The tournament runs from Dec. 16 to Dec. 23. At least 25 different countries will be represented in the tournament.

“You never know what country might be across the board from you,” said club adviser Dave Kennedy.

Different from tournaments in the United States, the Sunway tournament will play one game per day with nine rounds and nine games. The tournament has two sections A and B. The SU chess team is in the lower section B with six students and their adviser.

In addition to the games there will be special events such as a grandmaster playing as many people at once and a grandmaster giving lectures about a topic of their choice.

“I’m hoping that we will have more chances to win than in Hungary because there will be more players in our ability,” said Kennedy.

To prepare for the competition the team has been going to chess tournaments, some having gone to the Maryland November Action, implementing chess study and watching the world championships.

“I have a lot of faith in my teammates that they can definitely bring home the bacon,” said Ciarlante.

In Hungary, the team had trouble with language barriers, according to club treasurer Jacob Painter, but through hand motions and playing chess people of different countries could communicate.

“I call chess an international language because you can sit down with someone from a different country and communicate back and forth. It’s just not verbal,” said Kennedy.

Putting their chess language skills to the test, the SU chess team will play alongside 18 other countries, with more being added every day. Countries such as Columbia, Germany, Italy, India, South Africa and Iran have chess players in the tournament. Germany alongside England, Russia, Hungary, Russia and the United States have some of the strongest chess players in the world.

“Chess is kind of its own language in its own way,” said Ciarlante.

The chess club has received support from professors and others in the campus community, said Ciarlante. He has also seen growth in the team as four players went to Hungary but now six are going to Spain after a possibility of 10 making the trip.

The team left for Spain on Dec. 14 and will return home on Dec. 24.

“Now we have to hold up our end of the bargain and glorify Shippensburg University,” Kennedy said.

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