Immediate News Release ....

Belegradek Wins UMBC Chess Title

Last weekend Bella Belegradek (CMSC grad) beat defending champion
Ishan Weerakoon (grad CMSC) to become the 1994-95 UMBC Chess Champion.
The five-round swiss-system UMBC Chess Championship took place October
1-2, in the University Center Ballroom.  Fourteen undergraduate and
graduate students competed for the University title and for positions
on UMBC's two intercollegiate chess teams.  The event was directed by
Chess Club President Predag Tosic (grad math).

The most exciting game took place in the fourth round, when chess
master and former SriLankan Chess Champion Weerakoon faced Belegradek,
a candidate woman's master from Russia.  Underestimating the strength
of his opponent, Weerakoon emerged as Black from a queen pawn opening
into a weak position from which he never recovered.  After losing a
pawn in the middle game, Ishan placed his hope in trying to draw a
complex ending with queen and four pawns against queen and five pawns.
But Belegradek played brilliantly and won without error.  Belegradek
is one of the top woman players in the U.S.

As a result of the qualifying tournament, this year's first UMBC chess
team will consist of: Bella Belegradek (~2150), who finished with 4.5
points; Ishan Weerakoon (2185), who finished with 4 points; Vinod
Akunuri (1715, grad electrical engineering), who finished with 3.5
points and drew Belegradek in the third round; and Alexander Shinn
(1962, math/CMSC), Predrag Tosic (1628), and David Ford (unrated,
history), each with 3~points.  Each team comprises four players and
two alternates.

Qualifying for the second team are Darren Blye (~1960, physics), 
Raghathama Srinivas (~1850, mech. engineering), Vadim Gussman (~1300,
pre-med), Kalonji Collins (1250, biology), Zenon Pantazonis (1209,
ancient studies/English), and David Whiteman (unrated, applied
physics),

In December, UMBC will send two teams to the Pan-American
Intercollegiate Chess Championship in Providence, Rhode Island.  Last
year, UMBC's top team tied for third place, drawing the first-place
State University of New York team, and losing only to Harvard
University.  In preparation for the tournament, team members will
train every Saturday morning with their new chess coach Igor Epshteyn,
former coach of the Russian olympiad chess team.

Alan T. Sherman 
Assistant Professor, Computer Science
Faculty Advisor,  UMBC Chess Club