What a week it has been for the Polgar sisters! Just as Judith Polgar conquered a bronze medal in the men section of the European championship, Susan Polgar managed to lift a major title as coach. Comprised of three GMs and one IM (GMs Anatoly Bykhovsky, of Israel, Davorin Kuljasevic, of Croatia, Andre Diamant, of Brazil, IM Istvan Sipos, of Hungary and Faik Aleskerov, of Azerbaijan) and coached by world champion GM Susan Polgar, the Texas Tech Knight Raiders Chess Team won the Final Four chess championship this weekend in Washington.

"We expected a very close battle even though we were the fourth-ranked team," GM Polgar said for Jamaal Abdul-Alim at the US Federation website. "Often times, a strategy, not just on the board but ‘off the board,' that makes the difference," Polgar said, comparing what her team did to how various sports teams might study films of their opponents in action.

Click here for large photo report by GM Polgar

Susan Polgar happy about the Final Four

In only our second year competing in Division I, team captain GM Davorin Kuljasevic scored a clutch win against the highest rated player, GM Leonid Kritz, in the final round to bring the biggest College Chess National Title to Texas Tech!

This is a huge upset because Texas Tech came into the tournament as the 4th seed with average rating of 50 points lower than the other 3 teams. This is like David versus Goliath.

This is the strongest Final Four in history as each team has at least 3 Grandmasters and 1 International Master. The average rating of the four teams is about 2580! If the tournament starts over tomorrow, there is no telling which team will win. A single move could decide the fate of the entire tournament.

I would like to thank Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc. for sponsoring this spectacular event. The entire Final Four was first class all the way.

Full article by Susan Polgar

USCF on the event

In a groundbreaking victory that literally hinged on the last match of the last round of a collegiate tournament known as the "Texas Tech Prevails in Final Four of Chess," underdog Texas Tech University clinched the title over the weekend for best college chess team in the nation.

Comprised of three GMs and one IM and coached by GM Susan Polgar, the Texas Tech Knight Raiders Chess Team bested long time exclusive dominators of the tournament -- the University of Maryland, Baltimore County(UMBC) and the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) -- in a two-day, three-round tournament held here April 2 and 3.

The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) came in second place with a total of 6.5 points, followed by the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College (UTBTSC) with 6 points and defending champions, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, (UMBC) with 4.5 points.

The upset winnot only means that Texas Tech gets to bring home the Final Four tournament' sprestigious President's Cup and all that it symbolizes home to Lubbock, TX.

It also means the players -- GMs Anatoly Bykhovsky, of Israel, Davorin Kuljasevic, of Croatia, Andre Diamant, of Brazil, IM Istvan Sipos, of Hungary and Faik Aleskerov, of Azerbaijan -- will be given top consideration for any summer internships for which they might qualify at international strategic and technological firm Booz Allen Hamilton, a Virginia-based defense contractor that sponsored and hosted the Final Four tournament, as well as a simul by GM Ray Robson and a scholastic chess tournament for area students.

The firm's decision to support and host the chess tournament was not mere corporate philanthropy. Rather, company executives say the firm is seeking the best and most strategic minds in the world to help the company meet its objectives.

Michael Hoffpauir, a consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton who served as TD for the Final Four event, explained the company's rationale for its corporate support.

"It's important that we help our clients solve the toughest problems," Hoffpauir said. "Chess players have demonstrated thatthey are very skilled at solving some very tough problems. There's a natural linkage there."

Like most of the competitors in the Final Four event, the Knight Raiders were all foreign students. As such, jobs that involve defense contract work may lie out of reach, but they might be able to secure some of the various jobs that Booz Allen Hamilton has abroad.

Full article at USCF