Vaqueros defeat rival Webster University in Final Four of Collegiate Chess
Texas Border Business
By Victoria Brito
BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS – The UTRGV Chess Team successfully has defended its title as national champions of the President’s Cup, during the Final Four of Collegiate Chess this weekend at the Marshall Chess Club in New York City.
The Vaqueros again defeated six-time champion Webster University, as well as UT Dallas and Harvard University.
After two days of what was described as tough competition, the team is back at its base on the UTRGV Brownsville Campus.
UTRGV chess coach, Grandmaster (GM) Bartek Macieja, said the win is a fantastic feeling.
“We are exhausted after the trip and the tournament, but it feels really great to have been there and to bring the trophy home again,” he said at the airport. Their Sunday flight from New York into Brownsville landed just after midnight.
This is UTRGV’s fifth appearance in the Final Four, including three appearances as UTRGV legacy institution UT Brownsville/Texas Southmost College.
Last year was the team’s first win in UTRGV history, a win paved the way for UTRGV to be named the 2018 Chess College of the Year by the U.S. Chess Federation.
With its success at the Pan American Intercollegiate Chess Championship in December of last year, UTRGV again qualified for the Final Four.
Representing UTRGV in the Final Four were:
- GM Kamil Dragun, a sophomore from Gorzow Wielkopolski, Poland.
- GM Andrey Stukopin, a graduate student from Rostov, Russia.
- GM Hovhannes Gabuzyan, a freshman from Yerevan, Armenia.
- GM Vladimir Belous, a sophomore from Moscow, Russia.
- IM (international master) Guillermo Vázquez, alternate, a senior from Asunción, Paraguay.
