Sending Off “The UTRGV’s Kings” to the Final Four
Photos by America Salazar
With three national championships over the last five years, the UTRGV Chess Team is off to compete for an additional title. In celebration of the accomplishment, UTRGV hosted a send-off on Tuesday in the Student Union lawn on the Brownsville campus. The event served as an opportunity for students to play the game and celebrate the chess team kings.
The President’s Cup, also known as The Final Four of College Chess, will take place Saturday and Sunday at The University of Texas at Dallas. The team will compete against UTD, the University of Missouri and Webster University.
The kings who will fight for UTRGV’s fourth title are Grandmaster Irakli Beradze, a computer science graduate student; Grandmaster Viktor Gazik, an economics senior; International Master Gleb Dudin, a psychology freshman; International Master Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux, a biomedical sciences sophomore; International Master Juraj Druska, a mathematics graduate student; and International Master Ekin Baris Ozenir, a computer engineering sophomore.
“We’re getting stronger and stronger every year,” head coach Bartek Macieja said.
He mentioned how the UTRGV chess team has been the favorite over the past years. He said his entire team is fully thankful for all the support they have been receiving.
“We have lots of support coming to us and really different people [are] doing even some small things that eventually add up and help us be successful,” Macieja said.
Melba Latu, director of Student Rights and Responsibilities, is a proud supporter. Latu and her students made signs to demonstrate their support and pride that read “Go UTRGV Chess Team.”
“The Chess team is yet another reason to be a proud Vaquero,” Latu said.
She acknowledged the accomplishments the team has made and reassured the team that UTRGV is cheering for them from the Rio Grande Valley.
“We’re just very proud of them [and] we support them,” Latu said. “They’re three-time champions and they’re part of our student body.”
“There is pressure before every event, but it does not paralyze us,” Macieja said.
Macieja also shared one way the team will try to be different from the rest of the competition and take advantage of the weaknesses of the other contestants.
“We try to analyze what our opponents may possibly do wrong and how to exploit those mistakes that they can make,” he said.
Follow the UTRGV Chess Team at the 24th Annual President’s Cup play by play at lichess.org.
