MBA checkmates competition at BC chess championship

Maxim Doroshenko, a student in Simon Fraser University’s full-time MBA program, finished in first place in the 2011 BC Active Chess Championship, one of the top tournaments in the province, this past January. The chess showdown is held annually in Vancouver.

Doroshenko won six of his games, and finished with a draw in three others, to tie for the top billing along with one other participant. Along the way, he beat three former British Columbia chess champions – including the longstanding incumbent – to take home the prize.

The MBA student, who played in four world championships previously and holds the title of national chess master, has returned to the world of bishops, knights and rooks after a 15 year hiatus from the Royal Game.

Doroshenko, who is from the Republic of Moldova, started his first business when he was 18 – a grocery store in the city of Balti. Upon graduation from Moldova State University, he moved to Khanty-Mansiysk, an oil-boom town in the Russian territory of Siberia, where he launched a technology company focused on building systems for utilities.

He moved to Vancouver with his wife last year to enrol in SFU’s MBA program – and believes chess can play a big role in his entrepreneurial career aspirations in Canada.

“When I came here, nobody knew me,” he said. “Now, I get lots of emails from chess amateurs, lots of invites to events. “

“Chess is the best way to connect, because through winning the championship I gained lots of respect from this community. Chess helps me to build my business network here,” he said.

Doroshenko started playing chess at the young age of five, and played with near obsession through elementary and high school. “I always had to combine my studies with chess playing,” he said.

Since enrolling at SFU, he has committed himself to more vigorous academics. “This is the first time in my life when I can focus only on studies,” he said, citing business strategy, marketing, and management information systems as three areas of the MBA program that have caught his interest.

Further details on the British Columbia Chess Federation’s Provincial Champions can be found at: http://www.chess.bc.ca/bcchamps.shtml