On April 6 and 7, the elite chess players from SKEMA crossed the Mediterranean to compete in the French university chess championship, organized by the French University Sports Federation, in partnership with the French Chess Federation. Yovann Gatineau, a student in M2 PGE and the MSc in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, secured 4 victories and clinched the title with 8 points out of 9. "We are very happy to have become champions of France for schools/universities with SKEMA, it's like the icing on the cake after some very beautiful years and excellent results achieved with Nizar Alrobiai (M2 PGE, double degree in Business Law), Alexis Cahen (M2 PGE and MSc in International Marketing and Business Development) and Alexandre Houhou (M2 PGE). I am also very proud to have won the individual tournament and thus to have become a university champion of France for the first time, but the most important thing remains the team title that we had come to Bastia to seek," explains Yovann. In 2022, the SKEMA team had already made a name for themselves by winning these same championships.
Two opportunities this Summer
The SKEMA players will try to checkmate the kings of their opponents during the European Games in Hungary in July and the world championships in Uganda in June. "This title of French champions is our 2nd title, and it allows us to participate in the 2024 European Games in Hungary, where we aim to do even better than our bronze medal in 2022!" And to add: "It is very important for me to thank my friends from SKEMA who contributed to this title, as well as the fundamental support of Nicolas Martin, our physical education teacher, who has been working for years alongside us to promote SKEMA through chess. I hope to finish my studies on the best possible note at the beginning of the summer!"
May the goddess Caïssa grant this pious wish!