FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 30, 1996


CONTACT: JOHN FRITZ
410.455.6596 or fritz@umbc.edu


UMBC WINS 1996 PAN-AMERICAN CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

Two UMBC Teams Played Each Other During Tournament's Final Round


Baltimore, MD--At today's final round of the Pan American Intercollegiate
Chess Tournament, the University of Maryland Baltimore County not only
claimed its first championship, but also rewrote the event's history by
becoming the first school to put two teams into the final round.

	Earning five and one-half points, UMBC's A team (consisting of
twin brothers Valery and Dmitry Atlas, William "The Exterminator" Morrison
and Gregory Shahade)  beat UMBC's B team (consisting of Erez Klein, Bella
Belegradek, Oxana Tarassova and Derek Longo).  Based on cumulative points
throughout the tournament, UMBC's B team eventually tied for second place
with three other schools: the University of Pennsylvania, the University
of Toronto and Catholic University of Peru, all of which earned four and
one-half points. 

	The Scholastic Division Championship went to Stuyvesant High
School in New York.  As a result, Stuyvesant's top player, Alex Auerbach,
earned a full, four-year scholarship to UMBC, which hosted this year's
tournament.  Auerbach's three other teammates earned partial, four-year
scholarships to UMBC as well. 

	A computer program, CRAFTY, designed by Robert Hyatt at the
University Alabama Birmingham, beat all comers in the Open Division
Championship, but since tournament rules prohibited it from winning
prizes, the championship went to Michael Feinstein of Austin, Texas, based
on tiebreakers with two other competitors.

	For more detailed information about Pan Am Chess Championship
results, please contact tournament director Alan Sherman at
sherman@umbc.edu or (410) 455-2666. 


John L. Fritz
Director of Media Relations
University of Maryland Baltimore County
(410) 455-6596, Voice
(410) 455-1096, Fax
fritz@umbc.edu, E-mail