Alex Onischuk ’07 (from Chessbase.com)

Alex Onischuk ’07, modern languages and linguistics, was named the director of Texas Tech University’s chess program on July 30th, according to an article in The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.

The Ukraine-born grandmaster was captain of UMBC’s chess team during a period in which the team won four consecutive national championships, from 2002 to 2006. Texas Tech’s team are also champions, winning the President’s Cup for the second consecutive year this year.

Onischuk, currently ranked third in the country among chess players, released a statement saying, “I am thrilled to be selected as head coach of the defending national collegiate championship chess team at Texas Tech, and I hope to use my national and international chess experience to help the Texas Tech chess team successfully defend its championship.”

This post originally appeared in UMBC Insights.