Chess bridges all the differences

The University of Gävle is now arranging a chess café to create contacts between different cultures.  It will be a simultaneous game against some of the most well-known Swedish chess players.

A meeting of different cultures

Chess is a game that is common throughout the world and the idea is that it will inspire new meetings across cultures.

The Chess Café is to be arranged in the university library. There will be simultaneous games against some of Sweden’s most well known chess players, blindfold chess, interesting lectures about the social and cultural aspects of chess and a lot more. 

“We want to create meetings between different cultures and chess is a natural meeting place that has been used world-wide for hundreds of years,” says Erik Olsson, specialist in internationalisation.

Come and have a snack, win prizes and enjoy amusing experiences. Just drop in – everybody is welcome!

Date: Wednesday the 1st of June
Time: 12.30 pm – 4.30 pm (drop-in)
Place: The library, University of Gävle, Krusenstjerna Room (23: 213) 

In order to know how many will be coming it would be good if you could notify us of your interest at: info@akademifor.org

The complete programme:

• 12.30 pm – 4.30 pm Drop-in CHESS-café. Play a game and have a cup of coffee.
• 12.30 pm – 12.40 pm Introduction and information about today’s programme.
• 12.40 pm – 1.00 pm Elite Chess in Sweden, chess and pedagogy – Carl Fredrik Johansson, Chairman of the Swedish Chess Society.
• 1.00 pm – 2.30 pm Play your own game of chess (a simultaneous game) with Carl Fredrik Johansson, Chairman of the Swedish Chess Society. The winner gets a book about chess.
• 3.00 pm – 3.20 pm – An intercultural story of chess, the cultural and social aspects of chess – Dali Bitsadze Olofsson.
• 3.20 pm – 3.35 pm – Glocalization – Bengt Söderhäll, lecturer in didactics at the University of Gävle talks about the concept of "Glocalization".
• 3.35 pm– 3.45 pm Chess in Gävle – Gävle Schackallians.
• 3.45 pm– 4.00 pm Chess tournaments in Gästrikland – Per Åkerman, Chairman of the Gästriklands Chess Society.
• 4.00 pm – 4.15 pm Learn to play chess with us – Dali Bitsadze Olofsson and Pär Åkerman (for beginners).
•  4.15 pm – 4.30 pm Inauguration of the ladies chess club. The club is named after Anna Catharina Beskow, the first female Swedish chess champion. Beskow came second in the Women’s World Chess Championships in 1927.

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The Academic Society, with the help of Region Gävleborg starts a cultural and integration oriented project “Intercultural story of chess”.

Dali Bitsadze Olofsson

Dali Bitsadze Olofsson, author and initiator of this project has previously studied business economics at the University of Gävle.

When she moved to Gävle ten years ago members of the chess club, Gävle Schackallians, became her first contacts with society.

She was educated at a youth chess school in her home country Georgia where ladies chess is very popular. Although never playing chess professionally it has always been a fun thing to do in her spare time.

Dali sees chess as a path to finding similar values, a universal means of creating a dialogue, friendship and understanding and as a meeting place where people interact on equal terms.

For further information, please contact:
Erik Olsson specialist in internationalisation
Tel: 026-648628, 070- 191 38 52
Email: erik.olsson@hig.se

Jonas Larsson, Librarian
Telefon: 026-64 86 54, 073-622 14 20
E-post: joslan@hig.se

Text: Douglas Öhrbom