Chess Team

The UMBC chess team, one of the winningest college chess teams in the last two decades, placed second in the U.S. Chess Federation's annual championship Friday. The four-member team - who are all attending University of Maryland, Baltimore County on chess scholarships - were within striking distance of the top spot until the final match of the four-day tournament, according to the club. Leonid Kritz, Giorgi Margvelashvili, Sasha Kaplan and Sabina Foisor lost the Pan-Am Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship by one point to University of Texas at Dallas.

The UMBC chess team, one of the winningest college chess teams in the last two decades, placed second in the U.S. Chess Federation's annual championship Friday. The four-member team - who are all attending University of Maryland, Baltimore County on chess scholarships - were within striking distance of the top spot until the final match of the four-day tournament, according to the club. Leonid Kritz, Giorgi Margvelashvili, Sasha Kaplan and Sabina Foisor lost the Pan-Am Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship by one point to University of Texas at Dallas.

The renowned chess team from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County came in last on Sunday in one of the nation's premier college tournaments, the first time in a decade that the school did not finish in either first or second place. Texas Tech University took top place after a series of team round robin games in what is called the President's Cup, held this year in Tysons Corner, Va. The tournament is regarded as the "Final Four" of college chess. "Our players are depressed," said Alan T. Sherman, director of the program.

The renowned chess team from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County came in last on Sunday in one of the nation's premier college tournaments, the first time in a decade that the school did not finish in either first or second place. Texas Tech University took top place after a series of team round robin games in what is called the President's Cup, held this year in Tysons Corner, Va. The tournament is regarded as the "Final Four" of college chess. "Our players are depressed," said Alan T. Sherman, director of the program.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County's chess team defeated Miami Dade College in the first round of the Final Four Collegiate Championships in Dallas yesterday -- scoring two wins, one draw and one loss. UMBC was scheduled to face Duke University late last night and will play its main rival, the University of Texas at Dallas, today. Last year, UMBC won the Dallas event, known as the President's Cup, for the fourth year in a row. Sergey Erenburg, a grandmaster who was recently recruited by the school, played a draw against Miami Dade's captain, Renier Gonzalez.

To 18-year-old Jawan Parker, chess isn't just a game for brains and bores."People will say to me a lot, 'You don't look like a person who plays chess,' " said the tall, athletically built student, who enjoys playing basketball.But, sure enough, before and after school, and even during his lunch break, he can be found in City College High School's chess club room, practicing his game."It helps me develop my imagination, my patience and my analytical thinking skills," he said.That hard work has earned him and his teammates -- Harry Martin, Zenon Pantazonis and Donte Everett -- a weekend trip to Michigan.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County chess team lost to its main rival, the University of Texas at Dallas, in the last nding a four-year winning streak, according to the team's director. The loss was blamed in part on mistakes by team members as well as the absence of the team's top player, Alexander Onischuk, who could not compete in the tournament because he was in Russia at a chess invitational, said team director Alan T. Sherman. "It was critical for our team that he was unable to play," said Sherman, who did not travel to Texas but was in touch with team coach Igor Epshteyn.

The battle of the minds ended with University of Maryland Baltimore County crushing Harvard University.Led by some top talent recruited through an aggressive chess program, the UMBC chess team has given itself some momentum for the collegiate chess championship by handily defeating Harvard on Saturday.The UMBC chess team -- which has quietly become a national powerhouse featuring top-ranked Russian players, a Sri Lankan national champion and William "The Exterminator" Morrison -- cruised to a lopsided victory over Harvard, winner of five national chess championships.

The University of Maryland Baltimore County won the Pan American Chess Championships yesterday in an anticlimactic final match pitting the university's "A" team against its "B" team.Led by a handful of Russian players recruited to the Catonsville campus with chess scholarships, UMBC's "A" team, consisting of Belarus twin brothers Valery and Dmitry Atlas, William Morrison and Greg Shahade, took the first-place trophy and bragging rights in collegiate chess.About 40 teams from North, Central and South America competed at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel in Baltimore.

The chess team at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County garnered its sixth win in seven years at the Pan American Intercollegiate Chess Championship this week, taking home $1,000 in prize money and a first-place trophy. In addition to the championship won by the four members of UMBC's B chess team, the four A team members tied for second place with their rivals from the University of Texas at Dallas. UMBC tied with the Texas school for the Pan Am championship in 2000 and 2001. Baltimore grandmaster Alex Sherzer, nicknamed "The Surgeon," also came away with honors as the best player on board No. 1 for the tournament, which was held Friday through Monday in Miami.

John Joseph "Jody" Ferguson, a longtime computer programmer and talented athlete who regularly ran marathons and enjoyed swimming, died Friday at Baltimore-Washington Medical Center from complications of a seizure suffered last month. The Parkville resident was 39. Mr. Ferguson had suffered a seizure Sept. 15 while swimming at North Arundel Aquatic Center and was unconscious when removed from the pool by lifeguards. He had been in a coma since that time, said his brother, Terence T. Ferguson of Boston.

Karon Carter chewed his left index finger as he studied the chess board and then methodically advanced his knight in the direction of his opponent's queen. Two moves later, the 12-year-old said, "Check." A few minutes after that, the victorious youth was shaking his opponent's hand. Until four years ago, Karon had never played the game that he now has come to love. This weekend, he joined a contingent of Baltimore City school students at the National K-12 Chess Championships and the National Girls Chess Championships in Columbus, Ohio, where Baltimore teams excelled.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County's chess team lost its bid yesterday for a fifth national championship, and, as tends to be the case for any brazen team accustomed to winning on its competition's grandest stage, talk immediately turned to next year. The team finished second to the University of Texas at Dallas in the President's Cup - college chess' equivalent to the basketball Final Four. But with two grandmasters coming to the school from Israel and another one from Ukraine, the chess director for UMBC says he expects his team will be in good position to avenge yesterday's finish.

Baltimore County : Towson Apparent suicide by inmate investigated Baltimore County police and corrections officials are investigating the apparent suicide yesterday of a 45-year-old male inmate at the county Detention Center in Towson. The inmate's name was withheld pending notification of family members, police said. The reason for his arrest and how long he had been in custody were not released. Shortly before 5 p.m., security officers notified medical staff after finding the inmate unconscious in a pool of blood on the floor of his cell in the isolation section of the center in the 700 block of Bosley Ave., police said.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County chess team lost to its main rival, the University of Texas at Dallas, in the last nding a four-year winning streak, according to the team's director. The loss was blamed in part on mistakes by team members as well as the absence of the team's top player, Alexander Onischuk, who could not compete in the tournament because he was in Russia at a chess invitational, said team director Alan T. Sherman. "It was critical for our team that he was unable to play," said Sherman, who did not travel to Texas but was in touch with team coach Igor Epshteyn.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County's chess team lost its bid yesterday for a fifth national championship, and, as tends to be the case for any brazen team accustomed to winning on its competition's grandest stage, talk immediately turned to next year. The team finished second to the University of Texas at Dallas in the President's Cup - college chess' equivalent to the basketball Final Four. But with two grandmasters coming to the school from Israel and another one from Ukraine, the chess director for UMBC says he expects his team will be in good position to avenge yesterday's finish.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County chess team went to Miami without three over-aged stars - and left without the trophy. After shedding the three players, whose eligibility was under scrutiny, UMBC's elite chess team lost the top collegiate tournament yesterday for the first time in seven years. UMBC finished second at the Pan American collegiate chess championship to its arch rival, the University of Texas at Dallas. UMBC, which has gained widespread recognition for its chess exploits, had won the four-day tournament six years in a row, including two ties for first with UT-Dallas.