The University of Texas at Dallas chess team kicked off its new season with a victory over its top rivals in the state at the seventh annual Texas Collegiate Super Finals, winning the tournament for the second time in the program’s history. UTD’s first victory came in 2017.
“This was a great win for our team,” said Jim Stallings, director of the UT Dallas Chess Program. “If you can beat these teams, you are definitely showing how competitive you are.”
The tournament brought together the top collegiate programs in Texas: UT Dallas, Texas Tech University and UT Rio Grande Valley. The teams are typically among the top six collegiate chess programs in the U.S.
At the tournament, held Oct. 22-23 at UTD, each university divided its players into A and B teams. The UT Dallas A team placed first with 10.5 points, while UTD’s B team earned 9.5 points to tie for second place.
Both UTD teams lost their first-round matches in what team leaders said were the most difficult pairings possible. But the A team won its final three rounds, and the B team won two rounds and finished one in a draw, allowing UTD to capture the title.
“It was a combination of good preparation and their will to get it done,” said Julio Catalino Sadorra BS’13, chess team coach. “It’s a very meaningful win.”
Sadorra said the win was particularly rewarding because five of the team’s 12 players are new this year. He said his goal is to help all the players think and play as a team.
“There’s a different mentality between focusing on your own individual game and developing a team mentality,” he said. “They have to work together.”
According to Sadorra, that team mentality grows as the players train together, help each other and spend time with one another outside of team activities.
The chess team, which has players from eight countries, features four Grandmasters and six International Masters, as well as two Woman International Masters: business analytics graduate student Tarini Goyal from India and business administration freshman Gergana Peycheva from Bulgaria.
“This was a great win for our team. If you can beat these teams, you are definitely showing how competitive you are.”
Jim Stallings, director of the UT Dallas Chess Program
Sadorra said that besides a focus on teamwork, team members have been honing their skills. While not making any predictions, he said he feels good about the team’s performance at the chessboard and in the classroom.
“With our ambition, belief and hard work, I believe the team will succeed in both academics and chess,” he said. “I remind them all the time that they are, indeed, champions.”
The team will play next at the 2022 U.S. Collegiate Rapid and Blitz Championships on Nov. 13 and 20. UT Dallas won the online blitz championship last year.
Then in January, the team will travel to Seattle for the 2023 Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championships, where the Comets will seek a berth in the President’s Cup, considered the “Final Four of College Chess.” In the last 22 years, UTD has qualified for the President’s Cup 18 times and won it four.