Victor is a third-year undergraduate student at U of T pursuing a specialist in Computer Science. Currently, he is the Secretary & President of the Hart House Chess Club and is thrilled to be a part of the club’s amazing history.

At a young age, Victor began chess with his 2 older brothers. He went on to play regularly in chess tournaments in his hometown of Vancouver, and frequently played at chess tournaments in BC. He has volunteered, coached, and played in numerous chess tournaments and has experience working with students. His biggest chess achievement was beating FM Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux (now IM) at the Canadian Chess Challenge in St. John’s in 2018. Believing in expanding the reach of chess to students regardless of their background, Victor started a chess club at his high school in 2019. Victor believes that chess can be taught to anyone, and strives to promote an open and hospitable environment for everyone at the HHCC.

Being in the footsteps of giants of the club has only further driven him to share his love for chess with the HHCC community. He recognizes the incredible legacy and the unbelievable impact that the HHCC has made on chess in Canada and looks forward to bringing the chess club and the Canadian chess community to even greater heights.

He is the Club’s main tournament director and is the lead organizer of the Club’s many weekly events. In 2022-23, he played on the school’s Varsity Chess Team while serving as one of the Club’s Communications Directors, and as the Chief Organizer for the Club’s Holidays Open and Reading Week events. He also became a National Arbiter of Canada during his time at the Club. In 2023, he was named a recipient of the Judi Schwartz  Memorial Award for student leadership at Hart House, and as one of the Greater Toronto Chess League’s Organizers of the Year. In 2024 he was the Chief Organizer of the 2024 Canadian Zonals (National Championships) hosted at Hart House for the first time since 1978.