Final Four Underway in New York
April 5, 2014
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The UMBC squad Marlayna Demond for UMBC

March Madness may have concluded this weekend in the sport of college basketball, but the Final 4 of College Chess will be contested this weekend in New York City. Teams from Texas Tech, University of Illinois, University of Maryland - Baltimore County (UMBC) and Webster University will face off across the chess board at New York City Athletic Club's Olympic Suites. See the Washington Post article here.

The four teams qualified at the Pan American Intercollegiate Championship held this past December in Lubbock, TX. Webster University, based in Webster Groves, MO is the defending champion.

Schedule
Saturday, April 5 --9:45 am: The tournament begins with an opening ceremony

10 am - 3 pm: First round of play
Boards 1 thru 4: Webster  (1) vs. Illinois (4)

Boards 5 thru 8: Texas Tech (2) vs. UMBC (3)

5 pm - 10 pm: Second round of play

Boards 1 thru 4: Webster  (1) vs. UMBC (3)

Boards 5 thru 8: Texas Tech (2) vs. Illinois (4)

Sunday, April 6-

9 am - 2 pm: Final round of play

Boards 1 thru 4: Webster  (1) vs. Texas Tech (2)

Boards 5 thru 8: UMBC (3) vs. Illinois (4)

-2 pm: Tie-Break/Shootout match (if necessary)

-2:30 pm (approximately): Awards/closing ceremony and presentation of the President's Cup

Matches consist of four boards per team and each team can carry up to two alternates. All four teams will compete against each of the other teams in a head to head match. Irina Krush and Max Dlugy will provide commentary (which you can find by following Max Dlugy on chess.com) and the games will be available on monroi.com. Also look for updates at http://twchesssafari.blogspot.co.il/. The seedings, based on USCF rating order are 1.Webster 2.Texas Tech, 3.UMBC and 4.Illinois.

Team Rosters (in alphabetical order):

Texas Tech
Yaroslav Zherebukh
Elshan Moradiabadi
Andrey Gorovets
Luis Carlos Torres
Faik Aleskerov
Head Coach: GM Alex Onishchuk

University of Illinois
Eric Rosen
Xin Luo
Michael Auger
Akshay Indusekar
Head Coach: GM Yury Shulman

University of Maryland - Baltimore County
Niclas Huschenbeth
Akshayraj Kore
Levan Bregadze
Nazi Paikidze
Sabina Foisor
Head Coach: GM Sam Palatnik

Webster University
Ray Robson
Georg Meier
Wesley So
Le Quang Liem
Fidel Corrales Jimenez
Anatoly Bykhovksy
Head Coach: GM Susan Polgar

Some notes on the New York Athletic Club-

Address and phone number: NY Athletic Club

180 Central Park South, New York, NY 10019 | Tel: (212) 247-5100

Spectators are welcome. However, all attendees must be in compliance with the NYAC dress code. Business attire is the standard. For men, a tie is not necessary, although always appropriate. Jeans, sneakers and t-shirts are not permitted. Slacks, dress shoes, a collared shirt and jacket are perfect.

Sponsored by: Booz Allen Hamilton
Chief Arbiter: Michael Hoffpauir
Time Control: 60-minutes, with a 30-second time increment