Chess

Last weekend International Grandmaster Akshayraj Kore from India  (FIDE rating 2481) earned the title of 2013-2014 UMBC Chess Champion by being the top UMBC student to finish the UMBC Chess Championship held Sept 14-15 in the Commons.  Kore is a new MS student in CS.Former UMBC chess team member National Master Aaron Khan (2390) won the 5-round Swiss System tournament with 4.5 points in a dramatic finish, drawing International Master Levan Bregadze (2396) from Georgia and unexpectedly defeating Kore and International Grandmaster Niclas Huschenbeth (2537) from Germany. The 2013-2014 UMBC Chess Team will comprise Niclas Huschenbeth, Akshayraj Kore, Levan Bregadze,… Continue Reading Akshayraj Kore Becomes New UMBC Chess Champion

The UMBC Chess team was featured in the July, 2013 Washingtonian magazine. The article highlighted Washington, DC for, “We’re great at sports you didn’t even know existed.” The short piece focuses on the team’s history and how they are seeking to reclaim their once former dominance in college chess. You can play UMBC’s team in the September annual UMBC chess championship.

Earlier this month UMBC’s chess team was formally recognized on the floor of the Maryland State Senate and the House with a citation from Speaker Pro Tem Adrienne Jones (UMBC, ’76, psychology) UMBC Associate Vice President Lisa Akchin represented Dr. Hrabowski. The UMBC team then played a friendly match with the members of the Maryland General Assembly Chess Challenge. “It was a great experience to be recognized by the House of Senate and the House of Delegates. After being awarded we ended up playing for about two hours games with some of the senators, said Sabina Foisor, a member of the team and… Continue Reading UMBC Chess Team Travels to Maryland State House

The UMBC Chess Team is training for the 2012 Pan-Am Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship (“The World Series of College Chess”), which will take place December 27-30, in Princeton, NJ. The Pan-Am determines the top college or university team in North, South, and Central America, and the Caribbean. In its current form, it has been held annually since 1946. The Retrievers have won or tied for first place a record nine times (96,98,99,00(tie),01(tie),02,05,08(tie),09). The top four USA schools will advance to the President’s Cup (“Final Four of College Chess”), which will take place in early April in Herndon, VA. Started in… Continue Reading UMBC Prepares for 2012 Pan-Am Intercollegiate Chess Championship

The Baltimore Sun and the Washington Times covered the UMBC chess team this week as they competed in the 2012 President’s Cup. The team tied with the University of Texas at Dallas for second place, behind Texas Tech and ahead of New York University. The competition, known informally as the Final Four, was held March 30 to April 1 in Herndon, Va., at the Westin Dulles Hotel. Teams qualified for the match back in December, during the 2011 Pan-Am Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship. In that match UMBC came in second, ahead of Texas Tech and New York University and behind… Continue Reading UMBC Chess, Baltimore Sun and Washington Times