UMBC Chess

Mind games: UMBC chess
By Andrea Thomson
Senior Staff Writer

“I like its logic, irrationality and dynamics. I love harmony between pieces and how one should understand this harmony to succeed in understanding the game,” remarked Katerina Rohonyan, chess Grandmaster (GM) and member of UMBC’s chess A-team.

The A-team, which consists of sophomore GM Sergey “The Stealth” Erenburg, sophomore GM Timur “The Uzebekdragon” Gareev, M.S student GM Pawel “The Polish Magician” Blehm, senior WGM Katerina “The Kiev Killer” Rohonyan, freshman Aaron “The Detroit Destroyer” Kahn, and freshman Alexander “The Washington Wizard” Barnett, is the most highly ranked of UMBC’s three chess teams.

On April 5 and 6 UMBC’s chess team will be hosting the U.S. Intercollegiate Chess Team Championship. The A-team will be up against opponents from New York University, Miami Dade College, and the University of Texas at Dallas. Last year UMBC took second place in the championship. The tournament will take place in the UMBC Commons Game Room, second Floor. Before this event there will be a week long festival which will include chess game exhibitions and a pep rally.

All members of the A-team have participated in chess tournaments in the past. Most of the players have won several national or international championships and are GM’s. Timur Gareev, a Coca-Cola Chess Fellow and Economics major, explained that the title of Grandmaster or GM means that “you can play chess professionally.”

Gareev describes chess as a game that brings “aesthetic satisfaction”— one in which players must very often employ his best character traits and mental abilities in order to succeed. Nonetheless, “Chess is not just about having a higher rating or a GM title,” he added.

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