The UTRGV Chess team will compete in the 2018 Texas Collegiate Super Finals championship Oct. 20-21 at Texas Tech University in Lubbock.
The championship is an annual chess tournament in which the three best colleges in Texas send two teams each to compete for the title.
The 2018 Southwest Collegiate Championship served as the qualification tournament for the Texas Super Finals.
UTRGV, University of Texas at Dallas and Texas Tech will compete for the title.
Each school’s teams will compete at the tournament, but will not play against their own teammates.
Five grandmasters, three international masters and one Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) master will represent UTRGV.
Team A consists of four grandmasters and Team B consists of one grandmaster and three international masters with an alternate.
Team A:
–Kamil Dragun, grandmaster and management sophomore
–Andrey Stukopin, grandmaster and mathematics senior
–Vladimir Belous, grandmaster and finance sophomore
–Hovhannes Gabuzyan, grandmaster and computer science freshman
Team B:
–Carlos Hevia, grandmaster and computer science senior
–Guillermo Vazquez, international master and computer science senior
–Joshua Daniel Ruiz Castillo, international master and computer science senior
–Felix Ynojosa, international master and finance junior
Alternate:
–Yannick Kambrath, FIDE master and computer engineering junior
The UTRGV Chess Team won the 2016 championship, but placed second at the 2017 competition.
“In 2016, we won that event, which was an amazing success,” said Bartek Macieja, chess coach and grandmaster. “[In] 2017, we finished second, which was also good. This year we want to claim the trophy again, claim the title.”
Macieja said the new addition to their staff resulted in the shift of concentration to the team.
“For us, the main [actual] difference is because we have, finally, a second person working at the chess office, a second full-time employee, so that helps me a lot,” he said. “I have more time which I can dedicate for trainings instead of some, also important, but administrative.”
Alex Mista, a grandmaster, joined the UTRGV Chess Program as the new program manager this semester.
Dragun said competing in the Super Finals is not easy due to the level of competition.
“It’s not easy; everybody is going there to win,” he said. “Everybody is competitive, but we will try our best. I think everyone is preparing when we have some free time. So, I think we can think positively.”
Douglas Stoves, senior associate dean for Student Rights and Responsibilities, reflected on the outcome of last year’s game.
“Last year was really exciting,” Stoves said. “There’s no such thing as an unimportant game and it literally came down to the third or fourth board and how did they do. You know, that’s what ultimately decided who got first and who got second place.”
After competing in the Texas Collegiate Super Finals, the UTRGV Chess Team will focus on the 2018 Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship scheduled for December.
For more information about the 2018 Texas Collegiate Super Finals, call 882-5761 or email chess@utrgv.edu.
