July 23, 2004

By: Egan Prasad
Website: http://www.1st-in-games.com

U. T. Dallas Takes Second Place In Fourth Annual 'Final Four' of Chess

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County, defeated The University of Texas at Dallas in the 'Final Four' of Chess on Sunday, throwing into question once again which of the two teams stands at the pinnacle of college chess.

In December, UTD appeared to have resolved that issue by winning the Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship, the most prestigious tournament of its kind played each year in the Western Hemisphere. But by defeating UTD and two other teams in this small Central Kansas town over the weekend, UMBC, the runner-up in the Pan Am and a chess powerhouse for many years, demonstrated what in recent years have become the twin verities of college chess:

• The issue of college chess supremacy – which is the best team in the U. S. -- is very much open to debate.

• The UMBC-UTD rivalry is the best in all of intercollegiate competition, including anything found in either football or basketball.

In winning its second Final Four in the four years the tournament has been played, UMBC amassed 11 points in the two-day competition to 7 ½ for UTD, 4 ½ for Miami Community College and one for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

UTD also has won the Final Four two times, and UTD and UMBC each have won or tied for first place in the Pan Am three of the past four years. That’s how close what Dr. Tim Redman, director and founder of UTD’s chess program, Sunday called the 'seasaw' battle between the two has been.

Today, the other side of the seesaw – the UMBC side -- went up, said Redman, professor of literary studies in the university’s School of Arts & Humanities. There are times when the seesaw is level, and there are times when the UTD side of the seesaw is up such as at the Pan Am several months ago. I congratulate UMBC. At the Final Four, they played better chess than we did. The rivalry continues.

Until now, the Final Four of Chess has been a 'nail biter' every year it has been played. In both 2001 in Dallas and 2002 in Miami, UTD came from behind in dramatic fashion in the final game of the final match to beat UMBC and win the tournament and the President’s Cup. In 2003, also in Miami, the roles were reversed. UMBC trailed that year going into its Sunday match against the two-time winners but played superbly against UTD and dashed the team from Texas’ hopes for a 'three-peat'.

About The Author:

Egan Prasad is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.1st-in-games.com.  Great games for the entire family for hours of fun or competition. We feature all your favorites.