Timothy Chapman
On Oct. 22 and 23, the UTRGV Chess Team competed against UT Dallas, and Texas Tech University in the annual Texas Collegiate Super Finals, taking home third and fourth place.
“The A-Team managed to win all their games against TTU B without any major problems. This victory secured [UTRGV A] 3rd place behind UTD A and UTD B,” and leaving UTRGV B-Team trailing behind in fourth place, according to the chess team’s social media.
UTRGV Chess Program Manager and Grandmaster Alex Mista said this was a great opportunity for the new players in the team to compete in, but they knew coming into the tournament, it was not going to be easy.
“We are always excited when we can compete with other teams. This [is the] kind of adrenaline that we need from time to time. We were going there hoping to win, of course, but it’s [a] sport. You can not win everything and especially when the team is so new,” Mista said.
UTRGV Chess Team A was composed of International Masters Viktor Gazik, Jaraj Druska and Irakli Beradze and Grandmaster Kamil Dragun. Team B was composed of International Masters Tianqi Wang, Tamas Petenyi and Ekin Baris Ozenir, and FIDE Master Jakub Fus.
He said although the chess team was used to winning this competition, it is important to look back on the team’s performance and be proud of the effort it put in.
“You have to remember that third place is also [a] success, so it’s not like it was a disaster. We are used to winning in this competition, and maybe that’s why it’s a small disappointment because we hoped for more,” Mista said.
Grandmaster Kamil Dragun said he had a positive attitude even though the results did not go in their favor.
“Well everything that could go wrong basically went wrong, so I would say that’s pretty unfortunate, but this happens from time to time,” Dragun said. “One match can … take your chance to win the tournament and this is basically what happened to us.”
He said although losing is disappointing, it can also be the thing that makes you work harder to improve next time around.
“Usually, when you lose, it’s like extra motivation. You see that you’re not as good [as] you think you are and you just need to work better, sacrifice more time and more effort,” Dragun said.
Mista said the Vaqueros did not give up throughout the tournament.
“They were fighting until the very last moment trying to find more chances to win their games,” Mista said.
The UTRGV Chess Team’s next big tournament will take place in January 2023.
