CANOAS, BRAZIL – After a lengthy hiatus in international competition due to the Coronavirus pandemic (the Chess team's last competition was the 2019 Winter Deaflympics), the Americans were chomping at the opportunity to compete internationally for the first time in half a decade.
Despite some early delays due to technical issues with the event setup, the Chess team weathered an overall lack of rest to deliver its strongest showing yet in international competition throughout four consecutive days of tantalizing matches at the Lutheran University of Brazil (ULBRA).
In Men’s Rapid Chess, Abraham Glasser captured the Americans’ first Gold of the 6th PanAmerican Games after a spirited series of matches at the ULBRA sports complex.
In the marquee chess event, the Classical, Americans Abraham Glasser and Christian Vogler finished tied atop the leaderboard after two consecutive marathon 10-hour days. Glasser prevailed in the tiebreaker with a slightly higher Buchholz score to capture his second Gold by the narrowest of margins, while Vogler took Silver. Congratulations to all the American Chess players, who competed brilliantly in their first international competition since the 2019 Winter Deaflympics. The chess team now sets its sights on the 2026 World Deaf Chess Championships in Costa Rica.