Latest News
Recent Championships and Events
- 2025 South Texas State Grade Championships
- Checkmate: UTRGV Wins Fourth National Chess Championship (opens in new tab)
- Timeline of UTRGV Chess Program Success (opens in new tab)
UTRGV Chess Team visits the Texas State Legislature
Founded in 2015 and led by Coach Grandmaster Bartlomiej Macieja and Program Manager Colt Smith-Munoz, the UTRGV Chess Program has achieved wide acclaim at the State, National, and International level of Collegiate Chess. The program also hosts FIDE & USCF tournaments and offers year-round community classes and camps from a team of Masters.
List of National Achievements & Awards
President's Cup (Final Four)
- 2025 — Co-Champions
- 2021 — 1st Place
- 2019 — 1st Place
- 2018 — 1st Place
Pan-Ams & Texas Super Finals
- 2025-JAN — Pan-Ams Champions
- 2021-OCT — TX Super Finals 1st
- 2019-OCT — TX Super Finals 1st
- 2018-OCT — TX Super Finals 1st
- 2016-OCT — TX Super Finals 1st
- 2015-DEC — Pan-Ams Co-Champions
Named Chess College of the Year in 2018, 2019, & 2025 by the USCF, and honored at the Texas Capitol in 2019.
Watch: UTRGV Chess Championship Celebration (opens in new tab)2025 Recognitions
- U.S. House Floor Proceedings (Feb 6, 2025) (opens in new tab)
- Texas House (May 8, 2025) (opens in new tab)
- Texas Senate (May 8, 2025) (opens in new tab)
- Cameron County Court (May 6, 2025) (opens in new tab)
- Brownsville City Commission (May 20, 2025) (opens in new tab)
World & International Titles
UTRGV finished first in the team classification of the World University Blitz Championship in 2021, and won the Kasparov Chess Foundation University Cup in 2021, 2022, and 2024. In spring 2022, UTRGV won the Collegiate Chess League, the largest university-level competition in the world.
Programs & Community Outreach
The Chess Program supports the Chess Club at UTRGV, organizes state scholastic tournaments, and offers master-level individual or group instruction to local schools and communities.