ST. JOSEPH'S COLLEGE
150TH ANNIVERSARY
1st lasallian school in Hong Kong
Established in 1875
SJC Cup Chess Tournament
Fri, 11 Apr
|St. Joseph's College
Eight world champion amateur players from China, the HKSAR, India, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Vietnam are invited to participate in the tournament. Among them is Mr. Daniel Lam, an alumnus who was the first Hong Kong player to win the championship in the "World Amateur Chess" Blitz Group in 2017.
Time & Venue
11 Apr 2025, 5:00 pm – 13 Apr 2025, 4:00 pm
St. Joseph's College
About The Event
After a hiatus of six years, the second St. Joseph’s Chess Cup, Tournament of the Champions – will take place between 11th to 13th April 2025, at St. Joseph’s College. This is an integral part of the school’s 150th anniversary celebration.
Eight world amateurs chess champions will do battle against one another over 14 rounds of speed chess. You will also be able to test your chess skills against these players in the simultaneous display that follows. Last but not the least – the champion of this tournament will have a grand finale against the AI-program DeepSeek!
The Rundown
Friday 11th April 2025, 5pm – Opening Ceremony and Press Conference (New Hall)
Your first chance to encounter our eight competitors, and feel the tense atmosphere before they do battle against one another!
The event will be inaugurated by Yang Yirui, Deputy Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong SAR, with special guests from Consulate Generals of the competing Federations.
The Main Tournament
Saturday 12th April 2025, 10am to Sunday 13th April 2025, 1pm (New Hall for the broadcast, Old Hall for the competitors)
The eight players will first be engaged in a blitz round robin, where each player has 5 minutes plus 3 secondsincrement per move, in each game. This is followed by a rapid round robin, where each has 15 minutes plus 10 seconds increment per move.
Altogether, there will be 14 games, and whoever scores the most points in total (1 point for a win, 0.5 point for a draw) will be declared Champion of the St. Joseph’s Chess Cup 2025!
You are more than welcome to come and watch the games in the New Hall. There will be a big screen showing the games, with live commentary by International Master Matthew Tan from the Netherlands – he is a very seasoned and famous chess coach in Hong Kong. We will also show this on streaming as well – details to follow.
The Eight Players:
IM Abilmansur Abdilkhair (Kazakhstan) (World Amateurs Standard Champion 2022 and 2023)
FM Zhuban Bigabylov (Kazakhstan) (World Amateurs Standard Champion 2016, Blitz Champion 2018)
FM Arvinder Preet (India) (World Amateurs Standard Champion 2018, Winner SJC Cup 2018)
WIM Bayarmaa Bayarjargal (Mongolia) (World Amateurs Standard Women’s Champion 2017, 2018)
FM Daniel Lam (Hong Kong China (World Amateurs Blitz Champion 2017. 12-times Hong Kong SAR Champion across Standard, Rapid and Blitz. SJC Alumni)
WFM Zhao Shengxin (China) (World Junior Girls Champion U-12, 2013)
CM Boris Chan (Hong Kong China) (Champion of the 15th National Games HKSAR Selection. HKSAR Rapid and Blitz Champion 2023. Current SJC student)
WGM Hoang Thi Bao Tram (Vietnam)(Top performing amateur player in inaugural Asian Rapid Teams Championship, HKSAR, 2024. Two-time Vietnam Women’s Champion)
The Simultaneous Display
Sunday 13th April 2025, 1:30pm to 2:30pm (New Hall)
This is where you can test your skills against the eight champions! Each of the champions will be taking on 8players at the same time – and you will be allocated to play against one of them through random selection process!
Prize-Giving and the Fight against DeepSeek
Sunday 13th April 2025, 2:30pm to 4pm (New Hall)
Do stay on to honour the prize winners of the event, and also witness the battle, between the Champion of the St. Joseph’s Chess Cup, and the hot AI-program DeepSeek!!
This Cup is made possible by the great effort and support from SJC Alumni, current students, staff and parents, as well as the great assist from the Hong Kong China Chess Federation Limited.
