UGM’s Chess Student Club delivered a proud performance at the 2026 STIK Chairman Chess Cup (Turnamen Catur Piala Ketua STIK Cup 2026), organized by the National Police Science College (Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Kepolisian/STIK) of the National Police Education and Training Institute (Lemdiklat Polri). The national-level university chess tournament was held over two days, from August 22 to 23, 2026, at the Gedung Bhakti Dharma Waspada STIK, Jakarta, in commemoration of the 81st Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Indonesia. The competition drew participation from 17 teams representing public universities, private universities, and state agency colleges from various regions across Indonesia, making it a highly representative and competitive national-level university chess event. The UGM Chess contingent, consisting of four students, succeeded in claiming a total of three awards: 2nd Place in the University Team category, 6th Place in the Individual category, and 8th Place in the Individual category.
The 2nd Place University Team title was claimed by Muhammad Aditya Farhan (Vocational School 2022), Vaio Alfitrah Hazaraqi (Economics and Business 2023), Michael Anggit Prasaja (Vocational School 2023), and Muhammad Haidar Daffa (Geography 2024). The four players delivered a solid collective performance throughout the tournament, defeating teams from numerous leading universities and state institutions that participated in the competition. The final standings placed the UGM contingent in second place in the team classification, immediately behind Universitas Brawijaya who claimed first place, demonstrating that UGM possesses competitive collective strength in the national university chess arena.
The achievements did not stop at the team category. Two UGM players also secured places among the top rankings in the individual category, which brought together all players from the 17 participating teams. The tournament’s individual category was conducted using a Swiss system format with Rapid time control of 15 minutes plus 3 seconds per move across 7 rounds. Michael Anggit Prasaja claimed 6th Place in the individual category with a total of 5.5 points from 7 rounds, while Vaio Alfitrah Hazaraqi followed in 8th Place with a total of 5 points, completing UGM’s representation among the upper ranks of the individual standings. The performance of both players in the individual category demonstrates that the strength of the UGM contingent does not rest solely on teamwork, but is also underpinned by the strong individual ability of each of its players.
The achievement of three awards simultaneously at the 2026 STIK Chairman Chess Cup stands as concrete evidence of the growing quality of UGM’s Chess Student Club in national university chess competition. This success is hoped to serve as motivation for all members of UGM’s Chess Student Club to continue improving their skills, deepening their strategic understanding of the game, and performing even better in future championships. With a spirit that continues to grow and a training program that is constantly developing, UGM’s Chess Student Club remains committed to bringing honor to the name of Universitas Gadjah Mada at chess competitions both at the national and international level.