Pep Rally for Chess Team
When: noon Wednesday
Where: Student Union
What: Enjoy free pizza and drinks and join Temoc, the UT Dallas cheerleaders and the pep band for the chess team’s send-off.
The UT Dallas chess team will return to New York City this weekend to vie for the President’s Cup, considered the Final Four of collegiate chess, for the 15th time in the team’s history.
If it's victorious, it will be the sixth time the team has won or tied for first at the annual tournament. The Comets are going up against Webster University, Saint Louis University and Texas Tech University.
“We are very proud of the performance of the chess team this year,” program director James Stallings said. “It is not easy for team members to balance the demands of their academic studies with those of their chess studies.”
Going into the tournament, UT Dallas is ranked third behind Webster University — the highest-rated collegiate team in the country — and Saint Louis University. Incidentally, one of UT Dallas' opponents is led by alumnus and former chess captain Alejandro Ramirez BA’09, MFA’11, now head coach and director for Saint Louis’ team. Ramirez’s band of players will face off against his alma mater in their first appearance at the Final Four.
UT Dallas was the fourth university to qualify for the Final Four at the preceding Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship last December, where it faced stiff competition from UT Rio Grande Valley and the University of Illinois.
UT Dallas' appearance at the President’s Cup is a comeback of sorts for the team after it fell short of qualification for last year’s tournament.
“Because the competition has increased so much in the last couple of years, qualifying to the Final Four has become a very tough task,” said Grandmaster Dani Raznikov, a software engineering sophomore.
Raznikov will compete alongside Grandmasters Gil Popilski, a computer science sophomore; Denis Kadric, an accounting junior; David Berczes, a finance senior; Holden Hernandez, a computer science graduate student; and Angel Arribas, a software engineering freshman.
The Final Four, which is sponsored by Booz Allen Hamilton and Two Sigma, will be held at the Marshall Chess Club from Friday to Sunday. Follow @UT_Dallas on Twitter and UT Dallas’ Facebook for updates on the team’s performance throughout the weekend.
UT Dallas Chess Final Four Team
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Grandmaster Gil Popilski, computer science sophomore USCF Rating: 2648 FIDE Rating: 2551 |
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Grandmaster Denis Kadric, accounting junior USCF Rating: 2600 FIDE Rating: 2556 |
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Grandmaster David Berczes, finance senior USCF Rating: 2584 FIDE Rating: 2493 |
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Grandmaster Holden Hernandez, computer science graduate student USCF Rating: 2578 FIDE Rating: 2501
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Grandmaster Dani Raznikov, software engineering sophomore USCF Rating: 2577 FIDE Rating: 2512 |
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Grandmaster Angel Arribas, software engineering freshman USCF Rating: 2562 FIDE Rating: 2511 |