Baltimore, Md. – The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) Chess Team further solidified its place as one of the greatest in the history of college chess with its first-ever President's Cup title, secured on April 6 with a win over arch-rival University of Texas, Dallas (UTD).

The President's Cup, also known as the “Final Four” of college chess, was held at World Chess Hall of Fame in Miami, FL and pitted UMBC against UTD, the University of Chicago and Miami Dade Community College. The schools were chosen based on their performance at the Pan American Intercollegiate Chess Championships held in December where UMBC won its sixth Pan Am title in seven years.

While the UMBC team has clearly been dominant at the Pan Ams, they were not able to best the team from Texas, which has won the past two President's Cups. UMBC and UTD have developed quite a rivlalry, meeting in the finals of the Pan Ams and the President's Cup time and time again over the past three years.

UMBC's team included: Grandmaster Alex Onischuk (Alex the Invincible); Grandmaster Pawel Blehm (The Polish Magician); Grandmaster Alex Sherzer (The Surgeon); International Master Pascal Charbonneau (The Frenchman); and International Master Eugene Perelshtyen (Captain).