Texas Tech Freshman to Compete in 2010 Chess Olympiad

September 20, 2010
Texas Tech Freshman to Compete in 2010 Chess Olympiad
Grandmaster will join nearly 1,500 players representing many of the World Chess Federation's 171 national federations.
Written by Cory Chandler

A 19-year-old member of the Texas Tech University Knight Raiders chess team will compete against some of the world’s best players at the 2010 Chess Olympiad that begins today and continues through Oct. 4 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

Freshman Grandmaster Andre Diamant, the 2008-09 Brazilian national chess champion, will join nearly 1,500 players representing many of the World Chess Federation’s 171 national federations.

Diamant, who competed in Texas Tech’s 2009 SPICE Cup International Invitational Tournament before attending the university as a student, is the first Knight Raider to compete in an olympiad.

“I think that Andre’s inclusion in the Olympiad speaks volumes about the type of world-class talent we have been able to attract to Texas Tech and Lubbock,” said Susan Polgar, coach of the Knight Raiders and director of the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE).

Polgar will join Diamant in Khanty-Mansiysk to promote Texas Tech, SPICE and to recruit additional top talent. She also is the co-chair of FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess and ambassador for Tromso, Norway 2014 Chess Olympiad bid.

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CONTACT: Paul Truong, director of marketing, SPICE, Texas Tech University, (806) 742-7742, or paul.truong@ttu.edu