The Other National Championship

While college football fans watched bowl games last week, chess fans were monitoring the Pan American Intercollegiate Chess Championship, generally considered the top college competition for the game. The winner was the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, a regular powerhouse. UMBC is known for attracting top international students. The team members are: Leonid Kritz, a grandmaster from Russia; Sergey Erenburg, a grandmaster from Israel; Giorgi Margvelashvili, an international master from the Republic of Georgia; Sasha Kaplan, an international master from Israel; and Sabina Foisor (alternate), a woman international grandmaster from Romania.