Master competes all over North America
Checker pieces were boring. Chess pieces, on the other hand, looked interesting. For Isaac Wiebe that was enough to cement an interest in the game.
“I really didn’t know how the (pieces) worked but it was just fascinating to try and learn,” Wiebe said,
Fast forward 14 years and Wiebe has played in tournaments in Chicago and Ottawa and even had a chance to battle the reigning world champion. On Saturday, the Winnipeg chess player made the trip to Regina to take part in the South Saskatchewan Chess Championship.
The tournament is a first for Regina. After gaining sponsorships from the Regina Hotel Association and Sask Sport, the Queen City Chess Club was able to grow its tournament and attract some of the best players from across the country, which is what brought Wiebe to the tournament.
Wiebe has been playing chess competitively for the last four years. He is currently rated at 2210 by the Chess Federation of Canada — any player rated higher than 2200 is regarded as a master. A beginner player is usually rated at 1500 and most grandmasters are rated at 2500.
“In terms of right now, I just want to play consistently and be at this master’s strength for 24 games and then CFC will award me the life master title,” Wiebe said.
Wiebe hasn’t always been a good chess player. When he first started playing at lunchtime in Grade 5, he lost every game he played.
“Then I really wanted to study a bit and say, ‘Hey I’m going to try and not lose every game.’ And then it started to happen and I started getting a bit better and I kept playing because I liked improving,” he said.
Wiebe started playing competitively in his second year of college. He is now the president of the University of Manitoba chess club.
To train, Wiebe will sometimes play chess on his smartphone, which is what landed him the opportunity of a lifetime last September. Wiebe became one of the top 100 chess players on the phone app Play Magnus and was entered in a draw for a chance to play the world chess champion, Magnus Carlsen. Wiebe was one of the five lucky names picked for a game.
He won an all-expenses paid trip to New York where he played Carlsen. Carlsen beat him, but the opportunity gave Wiebe the chance to try out some new strategy he had been working on.
“It was a great learning experience because I actually asked him about his study habits and he definitely kind of made me a bit more studious and made me want to play harder because he’s just so good,” Wiebe said.