Mar 21, 2007 1:03 pm US/Eastern
Miami-Dade Chess Team Has All The Right Moves
jm/ap
MIAMI DADE (CBS4) ―
A South Florida chess team is hoping they have all the right moves.
Anchored by a grocery store deli worker, a security alarm salesman and 34-year-old computer science student, the Miami Dade College chess team has faced off against, and beaten, teams from Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, Northwestern and Virginia.
This weekend Miami Dade will face off against the powerhouses of collegiate chess, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, University of Texas-Dallas and Duke University in the collegiate chess finals.
Miami-Dade's team has made the Final Four five consecutive years, but this year they're 'going for the gold' after finishing third in each previous try.
"They're formidable players," said Jim Stallings, UT-Dallas' director for chess and education. "You can't just take anybody for granted in this tournament, because they are the top four U.S. teams."
Five years ago, no one was watching the Miami Dade team, because it didn't exist. Professor Rene Garcia says a group of students wandered into his office, said they had formed a team and he was their new adviser. Garcia said it didn't take long for the team to enter itself in a local tournament.
"Not only was it a surprise to me that apparently we had a team, but their performance in the tournament was remarkable," said Garcia, who teaches statistics and psychology at the college.
"I think the one advantage that we've had is that these are players who have a real love for the game and they've played since they were very little," Garcia said. "We have a lot of them from Cuba, where chess is a very big deal."
Renier Gonzalez, a former Cuban national player and the current Miami Dade captain, said the team has earned its opponents' respect with tough play and a fierce competitive spirit. "We always tried hard. Even those matches that we lost, we fought hard. We had a good team," said Gonzalez, the computer science student. "Sometimes they respect you because of the attitude you put in the game, not only because of what you are able
to do. And that's what we did since the beginning."
Liula Cardona, who also used to play for Cuba's national team and now works in a grocery deli, said she aggressively approaches each game with team mentality.
"I always think of the team, first of the team," Cardona said, "When I play with the team, I always play first for the team then for me."
Of course, Miami Dade has had its share of setbacks. Maryland-Baltimore County lured one of its best players away with the promise of a scholarship. Several players fit in practice between English lessons, family obligations, jobs and classes. The team can't afford to compete in more than three tournaments a year. And its recruiting efforts are lackluster, at best.
"We try to answer the phone, in case anybody calls," Garcia said.
Texas-Dallas and Maryland-Baltimore County have dominated the tournament, but Garcia said this year could be different. "Duke looks tougher," he said, and though his team is no longer easily dismissed, its players still feed off their underdog status.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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