The UMBC Chess team has been named fourth in the nation among university chess teams after competing in the President’s Cup at the New York Athletic Club, March 27–29, 2015. They qualified to compete in the Final Four competition through the Pan-American Intercollegiate Chess Championships, held in December.
UMBC’s team at the President’s Cup (pictured below) included captain Niclas Huschenbeth, Tanguy Ringoir, Akshayraj Kore, and Levan Bregadze—all either international grandmasters or international masters. Nazi Paikidze, an international master who is ranked sixth in the nation among female players, attended as an alternate. Paikidze will represent UMBC at the invitation-only U.S. Women’s Chess Championship in St. Louis, March 31–April 13, 2015. CSEE Professor Alan Sherman directs the UMBC chess program and Joel DeWyer, associate director of The Commons, serves as business manager.
This recent competition has led to another flurry of media attention for the team, known for its long history as a national chess powerhouse. That includes major features in Baltimore Magazine and on WYPR, as well as coverage in The New York Times.
For more details on the competition, see http://umbcchess.tumblr.com.
