College students develop soft skills while enjoying chess games, which are held every Thursday at the new facilities of the Universidad Panamericana Library on Universidad Panamericana Guadalajara Universidad Panamericana .
ZAPOPAN, Jalisco; October 27, 2022.—The Department of Art and Culture at the Universidad Panamericana Guadalajara campus and the Library welcomed hundreds of young people this semester to the “Chess ArtLab, ” a student-run club. The club met every Thursday at 10:00 a.m. in the Library’s new facilities, beginning on Thursday, September 22, and concluding with chess matches on Thursday, November 17 of this year. This activity aims to promote the development of soft skills among students through chess, as well as to create a recreational space for students between classes where they can expand their knowledge of this board game, which is considered a global sport.
Chess ArtLab
Luis Martin Ramos Aguilar, a seventh-semester student in Industrial Engineering and Business Innovation, current president of Enactus, and member of the Systematization team in the Department of Art and Culture, served as the project leader. He led the workshop and guided the students over the course of eight sessions. Luis commented: “Ever since I arrived at the university, I looked for a way to hold a chess workshop, and it was a great achievement to reach this goal before leaving for my exchange program in Spain. I’ve been passionate about this sport since high school, where I was taught by teachers who loved chess. They encouraged me to participate in several tournaments and later invited me to organize them.”
In addition, the Chess ArtLab has served as a meeting place for professors from the Schools of Engineering and Business, who share the same passion for chess with the students. Participants not only enjoyed themselves but also had the opportunity to learn more about the game; those who were already familiar with it were able to brush up on their skills and feed their minds with new strategies. It is hoped that this project will continue next year, doubling the success it has achieved.
As we know, chess can be viewed as a creative art form. The chessboard brings together three essential spheres of human culture—science, sports, and art—where games are played through creative expression. On the other hand, there is a very important factor: the pieces. These pieces feature a design that has served as a stimulus for artistic creation. The evolution of the pieces underscores the importance of chess in art and culture. Cultural influence and the artistic context were determining factors in shaping this ancient game, which has united and forged bonds among people around the world.
