Arts & Science student, Qiyu Zhou, is quickly becoming the Canadian face of online chess that has catapulted in popularity during the pandemic.
A member of Trinity College and a third-year student double-majoring in economics and statistics, Zhou was interviewed by the CBC to discuss her becoming the first online chess player signed to an e-sports contract with Counter Logic Gaming (CLG) — a Los Angeles-based e-sports organization that fields online gaming teams.
She also discussed her newfound fame playing chess on the live streaming platform Twitch, where she currently has more than 70,000 followers, with the Toronto Star.
And Zhou also recently spoke to the CBC about facing sexism as a female chess champion.
No stranger to media coverage, the Varsity introduced Zhou to the University in 2018, mentioning her in a feature about the Hart House chess club hosting its first Ivy League Challenge chess tournament.
Zhou has been playing chess since the age of four. Growing up in Finland, she was the youngest-ever winner at the Finnish National Chess Championship, at age five.
Zhou has since won several championships, including the silver medal in the 2008 World Youth Chess Championship, the Canadian Youth Chess Championship in 2012 and 2013 and at 16, the Canadian Women’s Championship. She now holds the title of Woman Grandmaster and has been on the national chess team for six years.
In the news:
- Chess fans hail The Queen's Gambit for upending male-dominated sport
CBC News | December 2, 2020 - Meet the young Canadians helping online chess become a pandemic pastime
CBC News | October 24, 2020 - Meet the 20-year-old Toronto woman who’s become a star during the pandemic — playing chess on Twitch
Toronto Star | October 15, 2020 - Checkmate — Hart House Chess Club successfully hosts first-ever Ivy League Challenge
- The Varsity | November 19, 2018
- The Woman Grandmaster and U of T student shares her thoughts on the new Netflix series and its impact on the game of chess
The Trinity Times | January 15, 2021