Portraits of Impact

The University of Texas at Dallas prides itself on providing a unique college experience for its students. With a champion esports team and one of the nation’s best chess programs, there is no question about UTD being different. For David Brodsky BS’23, a computer science alumnus and chess player, it was the perfect match.

“Despite living in New York all my life, I’ve actually known about UTD for a long time because of its chess program,” Brodsky said. “There aren’t that many chess schools in the United States, and I knew some of the players because I played them at tournaments. When I was applying to colleges for my bachelor’s degree, I reached out to the program in advance and was recruited.”

With help from the National Merit Scholars Program in the Hobson Wildenthal Honors College, Brodsky had total coverage on tuition and mandatory fees for his undergraduate degree. Additionally, he had career support from the Computing Scholars Honors Program in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science. Although both groups offer students a community, Brodsky’s freshman year was during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when most classes, events and chess tournaments were moved to an online format.

“I stayed in New York for most of my first year,” Brodsky said. “The chess team would still meet, but everything was online. We’d play training games, solve puzzles and do everything else we normally do, but on the internet. When we transitioned to the regular in-person format again in late 2021 and early 2022, we started to meet officially once a week and unofficially at bonding events.”

The UTD Chess Team was founded in 1996. Currently coached by Grandmaster Julio Catalino Sadorra BS’13, the team features 16 undergraduate and graduate students from four continents, including six grandmasters.

While earning his bachelor’s degree, Brodsky achieved the status of grandmaster. This is not an easy task, as a person needs to earn three “norms” – performances equivalent to playing at a 2600 level against a certain number of titled players, grandmasters and players with different federations in special tournaments that are nine or more rounds. Additionally, the individual must cross a FIDE rating of at least 2500.

“I managed to obtain one of the requirements just after turning 17, but my FIDE rating was still pretty far off by then,” Brodsky said. “I got stuck when COVID hit, but in the summer between my sophomore and junior years, I got the rating. It was such a relief while also being an ‘I made it’ moment.”

Brodsky and 36 other UTD chess team members have achieved the grandmaster title and 30 international masters since their founding. In 2024, the chess program sent a full team of titled women players to compete.

Although players can certainly play individually, Brodsky preferred the sense of community his team provided for him during his time at UTD.

“Sure, there are top players, but even those people have coaches or someone encouraging them along their way,” Brodsky said. “It makes going to tournaments a little easier, because we could be there for five days and to have your team with you makes a big difference to know you aren’t alone.”

Brodsky loves chess for its use of problem-solving skills, something he also finds in his computer science major. After graduating in fall 2024, Brodsky entered the competitive tech market.

“We don’t have a football team, but we have an amazing chess team,” Brodsky said. “I got the grandmaster title while at UTD, and the chess program deserves credit for helping me get to that level.”

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