UTB/TSC to return to Final Four of chess

 SOUTH PADRE ISLAND – The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College will return to The President’s Cup, also known as the Final Four of Chess, when the tournament takes place in the spring.

UTB/TSC will face Texas Tech University, The University of Texas at Dallas and The University of Maryland, Baltimore County to determine the top collegiate chess team in the United States from Friday, April 9 to Sunday, April 11 at UTB/TSC. 

“I think as far as our goal of qualifying for the Final Four, we reached that, but we will work to reach our potential even further,” said Timur Gareyev, a UTB/TSC Chess Team member and sophomore marketing major from Tashkent, Uzbekistan. “Now that we have basically figured out who is our main competition, we have a lot more time to prepare.” 

UTB/TSC President Dr. Juliet V. Garcia said the Final Four’s presence on campus would be an extraordinary experience. She said chess has helped bring more attention to the University. 

UTB/TSC met The University of Texas at Dallas and The University of Maryland, Baltimore County at the Final Four of Chess in April 2009 in Richardson. UTB-TSC placed third in the tournament. 

The 2010 Final Four of Chess teams were announced at the awards ceremony ending the 2009 Pan-Am Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship on Wednesday, Dec. 30, at the Sheraton South Padre Island Beach Hotel and Condominiums. The tournament began Sunday, Dec. 27. 

UTB/TSC’s Axel Bachmann, a sophomore biology major from Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, won the first place Board Three Award for best overall play in the third position throughout the tournament. UTB/TSC’s “B” Team was named the top team in Division II among teams with 2,000 to 2,199 points. 

UTB/TSC was the host for the Pan-Am, which featured more than 20 collegiate teams from The University of Texas at Austin, El Centro College, Rider University, Yale University and other institutions throughout North America and the Caribbean. 

UTB/TSC Chess Team member Hector Balandran, 20, a freshman criminal justice major from Brownsville, played in his first Pan-Am. He said the tournament taught him the need to practice more and compete better. 

“It was pretty difficult with the people I was playing,” he said. 

For final results, go to http://www.utb.edu/sa/chess/Pages/default.aspx.