The Hart House Chess Club is excited to host an electrifying chess showdown between International Masters Mark Plotkin and Nicholas Vettese. Join us for this spectacular event where two of Canada’s top chess talents will compete across multiple formats.

Nicholas Vettese is a current student at the University of Toronto who began playing chess at the tender age of six, in Grade 1. This was by way of an elementary school lunchtime program that his mother discovered. Excelling rapidly, he became the top-rated player on the Canadian Under-10 list and at the age of 10, he became the youngest-ever Canadian National Master. In 2021, he won the North American Youth Chess Championship, which crowns the best U18 chess players in North America and subsequently achieved his International Master title. He has played for the Hart House Chess Club’s PanAmerican Intercollegiate and Canadian University Championship teams.

Mark Plotkin is a distinguished Canadian chess player and coach, holding the FIDE title of International Master. Mark’s journey in the world of chess began with the aid of his father, Victor Plotkin, a strong FIDE Master and captain of several Canadian Olympiad teams. His early exposure to the game laid the foundation for a notable career that would see him rise to prominence in the chess community. Mark pursued higher education at the University of Toronto, getting a degree in Political Science and Journalism, where he not only sharpened his academic skills but also joined the Hart House Chess Club and contributed to the university team’s victory in the Canadian University Chess Championship.

The match pits the two of the strongest University of Toronto students of the past 10 years against one another to see who is the strongest of all. There is a lot on the line as the two battle to see who is truly the master of all formats (Classical, Rapid, and Blitz).

IM Plotkin vs IM Vettese Match