The UT Dallas chess team competed against Webster University, Texas Tech University and Saint Louis University at the Final Four of college chess last month in New York.
Another exciting chapter for the chess team at The University of Texas at Dallas came to a close as it returned from its latest tournament in New York City, where the four best collegiate chess teams in the United States competed head-to-head.
The President’s Cup, also known as the “Final Four” of college chess, is a round-robin tournament scored by individual points. UT Dallas played teams from Webster University, Texas Tech University and Saint Louis University, and placed fourth. Full results can be found here.
“As expected, it was a very tough tournament,” chess coach Rade Milovanovic said. “We were unlucky with our draw since our top two boards had to face significantly higher opponents with black pieces four out of six times. Our players fought hard; just the slimmest margin decided the final result.”
“Overall, the year was one of very solid performance by the team. Having said that, we will work hard to improve for next year.”
Jim Stallings,
UT Dallas chess director
The team’s qualification for the Final Four — after a strong showing at the 2016 Pan American Intercollegiate Chess Championship — was something of a comeback for the Comets after they fell short of qualifying in last year’s tournament.
Earlier this season, the chess team defeated the University of Belgrade with a crushing 10-6 finish in the Svetozar Gligoric Transatlantic Cup — its second consecutive win in the annual match.
Another highlight was the crowning of Grandmaster Gil Popilski as co-champion at the U.S. Open Chess Championship, where he tied for first at 8-1 with Grandmaster Alex Shabalov.
Last September, the chess team also dominated the Southwest Open with Grandmasters Dani Raznikov and Holden Hernandez tying for first place with UT Dallas alumnus Conrad Holt BS’15.
Program director Jim Stallings said this season has also been notable for the influx of new talent on the team, with seven new players added this year including two grandmasters and two international masters.
“Overall, the year was one of very solid performance by the team,” Stallings said. “Having said that, we will work hard to improve for next year.”