Edison Xu

Hi everyone, my name's Edison, and I'm running for Chess Soc President.

Chess has played a huge role for over two-thirds of my life, shaping it to where I am today. I've been introduced to the game of chess at six, and my love for the game has only grown deeper since then.

Moving to the UK at 8 years old was a hard time for me. Trying to learn the language from scratch, understanding a new culture, finding new places and new people with whom I can share my interests, and just settling in in general were all challenges I was suddenly struck with. Soon, however, I found a local chess club which I quickly settled into, and it was one of the first places I experienced a sense of community and comfort.

From then on, I competed in weekly league matches, and in the following years, I moved on into various national and international tournaments, representing England as Board 1 in many countries across Europe - Scotland, Belgium, Gibraltar, just to name a few. Now, I compete in the UCL first team in league matches and inter-uni competitions.

Chess was and still is one of the main things that made me many many friends and connections. It's something where I can explore and share my passion with other keen chess players regardless of ability.

Therefore, if I were elected as President, I aim to, as well as the weekly chess clubs, explore even more opportunities for play - more frequent tournaments, starting up a chess club online, etc. - and of course, lead the UCL teams to further success.