The University of Texas at Dallas will make a record 19th appearance in the President’s Cup — known as the Final Four of College Chess — and will have home advantage as the event returns to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex for the first time in 15 years.
The 24th annual tournament, which will be held March 30-31 on the Richardson campus, will feature UT Dallas, the University of Missouri (MU), Webster University and UT Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), each of which will be pursuing a championship in the biggest college chess event of the season. Webster, located in St. Louis, is the defending champion.
For Jim Stallings, director of the UT Dallas chess program, hosting the event is an opportunity to remind recruits and the public of UTD’s status as one of the country’s top chess colleges.
“The Final Four is the strongest tournament per board held annually in collegiate chess, and it determines the national championship,” Stallings said. “If young players wish to continue improving their chess skills while getting an outstanding education, there is no better place to be than UT Dallas.”
Since its founding in 1996 by Dr. Timothy Redman, professor emeritus of literature, the chess program has become one of the signature aspects of UT Dallas. A university without a football program that boasts an elite chess team with four national championships stands out — especially in Texas — and the Comets embrace this intellectual identity.
Dates: Saturday, March 30, and Sunday, March 31Location: Naveen Jindal School of Management
Playing Venue: JSOM 1.606
Commentary Room: JSOM 11.305
View play online
Pep rally: 2 p.m. Thursday, March 28
at Texas Instruments Plaza
“Chess at UT Dallas is part of our identity, a model of the intelligent student that attends the University,” Stallings said. “The players dedicate themselves to many hours of rigorous study and training every week. This commitment leads to the University’s preeminent position in collegiate chess.”
The U.S. collegiate chess landscape is dominated by schools from Texas and Missouri, and UT Dallas provides roots in both states. MU head coach Cristian Chirila BA’14 started the chess program there, and he will return to UTD with hopes of winning the President’s Cup with his team.
Julio Catalino Sadorra BS’13, who has been the Comets’ coach for the past five years, hails from the Philippines. Returning to his alma mater as coach has provided an opportunity to pass along the knowledge he accumulated as a grandmaster and international professional.
“Being an international student and chess scholar myself has been invaluable, as it enables me to easily understand the perspective of those I’m recruiting, serving and guiding,” Sadorra said. “It’s a joy to be reunited with the place that helped me grow as a student and person. And what university loves and respects chess more than UTD?”
The UT Dallas team prepared for the Final Four by hosting the Southwest Collegiate Team Championship on March 9, facing high-level regional competitors including UTRGV and Texas Tech University. The UTD trio of Koustav Chatterjee, Brian Escalante Ramirez and Balaji Daggupati tied for first place with Texas Tech’s top team, beating the top two trios from UTRGV.
The UT Dallas trio of Anastasia Paramzina, Gergana Peycheva and Tarini Goyal took the top women’s team prize at the event, and Paramzina, a woman grandmaster, will be an alternate player for the Comets’ Final Four team.
The UT Dallas squad features six grandmasters — players who have achieved the highest rating classification from FIDE, the International Chess Federation: Ivan Schitco, David Brodsky and Rahul Srivasthav Peddi, along with Chatterjee, Daggupati and Escalante Ramirez.
