By: Jacques

Edited by: Ingrid 

The IASAS season always brings a special kind of buzz to campus. Whether it’s volleyball players boarding flights at sunrise or delegates from Art and Film preparing for a week of collaboration abroad, the idea of representing ISM at an international event carries a prestige that students feel deeply. Going to IASAS is a source of pride, shown by the badges on their varsity jackets and shirts. It is not just about competition. It is about travel, community, friendships, and experiencing something bigger than school. But if so many activities, from contact sports to performing arts, get the opportunity to travel, why doesn’t chess? Why is chess the only activity held online? It is a question that has come up more than once, especially as the club continues growing its membership and skill level. 

For decades, IASAS sports teams have traveled across Southeast Asia to compete. Their events are well-known and popular, including football, basketball, and other sports. In many ways, sports travel is simply considered a built-in part of IASAS and the ISM teams. But what’s interesting is that travel is not limited to the athletic side. CULCON events, with Art, Film, Drama, Dance, and Music, also send students abroad. These activities are not physical sports or competition-based, yet IASAS has recognized their value by providing space for them to travel, collaborate, and represent their schools. 

IASAS Film supervisor Ms. Lemmer states, “Being able to travel and work with students from the other five IASAS schools in film expands students’ ideas about collaboration and their ideas about filmmaking and compromise and working with others, which I think is really important.” This matters because it shows IASAS is not just about competition. It is about connection, learning valuable skills, and gaining new experiences, even when those experiences don’t involve a ball or a scoreboard.

The sport of chess has grown in popularity. On Chess.com alone, there were 100 million registered members as of December 2022, with that number having undoubtedly risen even further since then. Popular chess influencers like Gotham Chess and Hikaru Nakamura have garnered millions of followers, further attracting people to the game. No one can deny that chess is a very popular sport. Furthermore, this trend has impacted ISM. “Ever since Covid, Chess has gotten much more popular and a lot more people are playing and joining the club, which is amazing,” says chess team captain Srihaan. No question, the excitement and passion for the sport are real, both inside and outside of ISM.

However, IASAS chess is held online. The matches are real, and the stakes carry every bit as much meaning as they do in any other sport. But anyone who has actually played over-the-board chess at tournaments knows it is a completely different game. In-person chess demands physical presence. “Being able to see your opponent, there’s way more pressure, and you have to manage your time with actual chess clocks. Also, typical real-life tournament games are way slower than online games, which are much more fast-paced,” says an anonymous member of the ISM Chess team, who has been playing since elementary school. As such, the concentration and pressure of an actual tournament do not fully translate through a screen. 

And beyond the gameplay, something more important is lost: the IASAS experience. Online chess does not allow for conversations with opponents after a match, shared lunches, team bonding, or the simple joy of being abroad. The very spirit of IASAS is cut out of the equation. If chess is taken seriously enough to be an IASAS sport, why not allow people to travel?

This also seems unfair to players, many of whom spend countless hours honing their skills, by barring them from competing at a real-life venue and truly experiencing IASAS. Over-the-board tournaments are the standard in the chess world, and online formats are mainly used as alternatives, not replacements. Head coach Gavin comments on this, stating, “I think that doing tournaments face-to-face adds a certain depth. And for the players here who want to explore possibilities of pursuing chess later in life, they definitely need to experience more face-to-face tournaments.” 

Over-the-board chess isn’t only about calculating moves. It’s also about handling the human side of the match: the tension of sitting across from someone, the silence, the pace of the clock, and the constant awareness that every decision is being made in the same physical space. Players can pick up on non-verbal cues, and they also have to manage what they themselves are projecting. That subtle back-and-forth creates a kind of connection, even between opponents, that online chess cannot fully reproduce.

To be fair, several concerns come up whenever the idea of in-person chess is discussed.

Head chess Coach Gavin adds, “I think we should be able to go abroad, but I also see why online tournaments make sense. I think I understand both sides. Because of travel costs and everything, it’s really difficult for athletes to travel abroad. And given that budgets in school are restricted, we understand why online tournaments with the schools, with IASAS, make sense.” But the travel costs are mostly covered by players, with lodging and food provided by host IASAS families, with multiple systems already in place to facilitate it. As such, it seems odd to restrict players solely because of costs. Additionally, the idea that chess doesn’t need to be in person because it is not physical, or that it’s ‘too competitive’ to be like CULCON, doesn’t really hold up. Speech, Debate, and MUN are just as competitive and could also be done online, but no one suggests keeping those on Zoom.

Another anonymous member of the chess team offers an even stronger explanation, stating, “They tried pushing for a while back, with ISM not for or against it, but other schools were just against it because they know that even if they fly all their guys, they’re not going to win it.” It’s a good point, given that ISM has a dominant team that has resoundingly crushed chess IASAS over the past three years. If they’re not going to win, why let their students go? However, I feel this misses the point of IASAS, as the spirit of IASAS has never been about guaranteeing wins. It is about meeting others, connecting, and representing your school, whether you win or lose. Chess deserves the same consideration as other intellectual or artistic activities that already travel.

In the end, travel is not just a perk. It is part of what makes IASAS meaningful. It pushes students out of their comfort zones, builds school pride, and connects people across schools and cultures. Chess has grown enormously worldwide, and ISM students are more passionate and competitive than ever. 

In the end, travel is not the main roadblock. What really matters is the experience that comes with in-person play. Face-to-face matches have a depth you just cannot recreate online, and that difference is essential to the game. The community, the shared pressure, school pride, and the connections made across IASAS schools: these are what make the event meaningful. Chess has grown enormously worldwide, and  ISM chess players are more passionate and competitive than ever.

So why not give chess the same recognition, respect, and opportunity? 

Maybe the next step is small, with an invitational between two IASAS schools, or a hybrid tournament hosted biannually. But the potential is there. After all, IASAS isn’t only about competition. It’s about community. And chess players deserve to be part of it, in full.