The UTRGV Chess Team competed in the Pan-American Intercollegiate Chess Championship Jan. 2-5 and placed second, securing a spot in the 2026 President’s Cup. (UTRGV Courtesy Photo)
Four-time national champs show their mettle at highly contested qualifier
Thursday, January 8, 2026
Awards, Community, Student Life
By Victoria Brito Morales
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – JAN. 8, 2026 – The four-time national champion UTRGV Chess Team has defeated Harvard University at the Pan-American Intercollegiate Chess Championship to secure a return to the prestigious President’s Cup.
UTRGV Chess Team A placed second overall at the Pan-Americans, held Jan. 2–5 in Oak Brook, Ill., finishing with a score of 10 points out of a possible 12.
The tournament serves as the qualifying event for the President’s Cup, which determines the national collegiate chess champion. UTRGV cemented its advancement at the 2026 Cup after defeating Harvard in the final round of competition.
UTRGV’s chess program is a four-time national champion, having won the President’s Cup in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2025.
UTRGV chess coach Bartek Macieja said he is pleased with the team’s performance at this year’s Pan-American, and with the results.
The top four teams from the Pan-Americans earned spots in the President’s Cup, scheduled for March 21–22 in Missouri. (UTRGV Courtesy Photo)
“We won five out of six matches, despite tough competition,” he said. “Our students trained hard throughout the semester. They played good practice tournaments, even at the end of December during the winter break. We were well prepared, and it paid off.”
The advancing UTRGV Chess Team A includes:
- Gleb Dudin, grandmaster, junior psychology major.
- Santiago Avila Pavas, grandmaster, freshman computer engineering major.
- Jose Gabriel Cardoso Cardoso, grandmaster, freshman marketing major.
- Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux, grandmaster, senior biomedical sciences major.
- Jakub Fus, international master, senior psychology major.
- Ekin Baris Ozenir, international master, senior computer engineering major.
The team’s qualification follows another dominant year for the program. In 2025, UTRGV won the Pan-American qualifying event and went on to capture a co-championship at the President’s Cup alongside Webster University.
The top four teams from the Pan Americans earned spots in the President’s Cup, scheduled for March 21–22 in Missouri.
UTRGV will compete against Webster University, Saint Louis University, and the University of Missouri for the national title.
ABOUT UTRGV
Celebrating its 10th anniversary during the 2025-2026 academic year, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) is on a mission to transform the Rio Grande Valley, the Americas and the world. One of the country’s largest Hispanic-Serving Institutions and Seal of Excelencia certified, UTRGV has earned national recognition for its academic excellence, social mobility and student success since opening in Fall 2015. Ranked among the Best Colleges for your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars in 2025 by Washington Monthly (#7 nationally; #1 in Texas), UTRGV continues to break enrollment records, launch new academic and athletics programs and progress toward achieving R1 research status.
The only university in Texas with schools of Medicine and Podiatric Medicine, UTRGV’s regional footprint spans South Texas – with locations, teaching sites, and centers established in Edinburg, Brownsville, Rio Grande City, McAllen, Weslaco, Harlingen, Laredo, Port Isabel and South Padre Island.