Checkmate

Peking University Chess is to collegiate chess what the University of Miami is to NCAA football. With an all-star team, including the second highest ranking female chess player in China, The Peking University Chess Team is the favored team in any match. Until recently, that is.

Harvard’s chess team flew to China for the express purpose of proving that America can hold its own over the black and white board. As part of the Harvard in Asia Project, a cultural exchange between Peking and Harvard that took place over Spring Break, five Harvard chess players participated in a two-day match. The Beijing match concluded with a resounding Crimson victory.

From the very first day, it was clear that Peking University takes his chess very seriously. Upon arrival, the Harvard contingent— Daniel J. Benjamin, a third year economics grad student, Marc R. Esserman ’05, Dan E. Goodman ’07, Daniel H. Thomas ’05-06, and Albert C. Yeh ’07—was greeted with a 30-foot banner advertising their match. Because the Harvard team was formally invited by the Chinese government, they were treated as quasi-celebrities. Peking University’s president gave an opening speech that reflected the magnitude of the event. This reverence was a stark contrast to the reception back home; despite being Harvard’s oldest club, the chess team doesn’t get preferential treatment. The Undergraduate Council only offered $250 to these chess masters for trip funding. Despite Harvard’s lack of support, Benjamin was especially excited by the opportunity to compete against China’s national chess champion, Ye Jiangchuan. True to his reputation, Jiangchuan waved his chess prowess in Harvard’s face by taking on the whole team simultaneously. Benjamin likens the experience to “playing against God...I’ve never seen anything like it before.” Benjamin notes that his competitor would envision “long, complicated sequences in seconds” as he proceeded to defeat the entire Harvard team.

However, this humbling loss was merely fleeting in the face of the huge showing of hospitality the team received from Peking University, as well as the media attention and substantial crowds at their matches. One team member was especially pleased by a massage discount he enjoyed simply for being a Harvard student. Harvard public policy professor Kenneth Rogoff was impressed by the magnitude of the match, noting that “beating giant [Peking] University in chess is arguably akin to beating an Ohio State or a Miami in football.” In addition to his academic duties, Rogoff carries the title of chess grandmaster, the highest distinction awarded by the World Chess Federation.

Similarly, Thomas notes China’s striking enthusiasm for chess. “I would really like to move to China and play,” he says. If the Chinese enthusiasm for chess isn’t enough, he also adds, “The women were also really beautiful.”