UMBC's chess champs, courtesy of umbc.edu
How many of you can call yourselves a “Grandmaster” at something? (We at USDemocrazy can probably only claim that title in the category of “sleeping in”…)
Duke may be the National champions in basketball, but one group of students from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) proved their mastery in another game… the game of chess.
This weekend at the chess Final Four (also known as the President’s Cup) at the University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB) the UMBC team won the title over UTB and other powerful chess competitors Texas Tech and the University of Texas at Dallas.
What is more special than winning the Collegiate Final Four in such an intense intellectual sport? Winning it six times of the past ten years!
A press release from UMBC on the chess team’s big win quoted the director of the program, Alan Sherman:
UMBC had to bring their best game ever to win against the strongest field of chess teams ever assembled at any Final Four. [...] [UMBC chess] team captain Sergey Erenburg and Leonid Kritz played amazingly to lead their team against such tough competition.
And if being renowned chess sharps wasn’t enough for the group, three have perfect GPAs and one, the team captain Sergey Erenburg, is a candidate for valedictorian according to the press release.
UMBC’s announcement introduces the chess team as well:
UMBC’s championship chess team: Leonid Kritz, a Grandmaster from Russia; Sergey Erenburg, a Grandmaster from Israel; Giorgi Margvelashvili, an International grandmaster-elect from the Republic of Georgia; Sasha Kaplan, an International Master from Israel; Sabina Foisor (alternate), a Woman International Grandmaster from Romania; UMBC Chess Coach Igor Epshteyn; and Associate Chess Director Sam Palatnik.
Congratulations to the collegiate chess champs at UMBC!! We hope never to come across them in an intellectual sports arena…
Update: Hear about this story on NPR’s Tell Me More!
But what is there hang time?