The Derzhavin University Cup 2026 was held at Tambov State University named after G.R. Derzhavin. This large-scale team intellectual games tournament was organized by the university's Intellectual Games Club. The event brought together teams from higher education institutions and professional educational organizations of the region.
"The Derzhavin Cup 2026 is a very important event for all intellectuals in the Tambov Region. For the first time in a long time, we were able to witness a battle of experts from most of Tambov's universities and colleges. I hope that this event will become a regular fixture in Derzhavin University's calendar and will continue to bring our beloved sporting format to the masses, attracting more and more new players," noted Ilya Popov, head of the Derzhavin University Intellectual Games Club and a fourth-year student in the Faculty of History, Political Science, and Philology.
The competition consisted of three disciplines. In classic format "What? Where? When?" the teams answered 24 questions (two rounds of 12 questions each). The team "Own Game" challenged participants to use strategic thinking and knowledge of thematic categories. In the duel game "Voroshilov Sharpshooter," participants competed for speed using special buttons. The winner was determined by the total points in all disciplines.
"Competing with other universities is something we've long dreamed of in our club. It's wonderful to see our dream come true, with Tambov students of different ages and majors enthusiastically discussing the issues. All the event guests were very intelligent, and competing against them in an intellectual duel was a great pleasure for our team. I'm sure we'll get together at Derzhavin University again," shared Marina Kachanova, a member of the Derzhavin University intellectual games team and a third-year student at the Institute of Pedagogics.
After three games, the Derzhavin team won the tournament. The Tambov State Technical University team took second place. Students from the Construction College came in third.
