UTRGV’S Bartek Macieja brings lifetime of moves to the game board

By Victoria Brito Morales

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – He was just 5 years old when the fascination hit.

Little Bartek Macieja and his family were taking a walk in the park in his native Warsaw, Poland, when they came across people playing a game he didn’t recognize.

“I stood there watching, and then I asked my mother, ‘What is this game?’”

Macieja, chess coach at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley since 2012, has led the UTRGV Chess Team to three consecutive national championships, and seven state titles.

This year again, the team placed first at the Pan American Collegiate Chess Championship in January in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is slated to compete for the national President’s Cup, April 4-6 at UT Dallas in Richardson, Texas.

The road to those championship chess titles started in that park, when his mother explained the game to him, so he credits her as his first chess teacher. He started playing, which provided him with a vessel to channel his already established interest in puzzles and logistical problems.

And it helped that he had a natural talent for the ultimate strategy game.“When I first started having success in chess, it pushed me to play more because I was winning and wanted to continue,” he said. “And then the successes got bigger and bigger.”

Macieja, a chess grandmaster, went on to a career as a professional chess player in Poland, which included two Polish national championship titles, and one as the international European champion.

After a long and full career in chess, he knew it was time to leave behind the rigors of touring and instability and move on to something new. He could never really leave chess behind, though, so he began the search for a coaching position.

He found it in Brownsville, Texas. In 2012, after completing his final tournament with the Polish National Chess Team, Macieja was set to move to South Texas to become the new chess coach at then UT Brownsville/Texas Southmost College.

He went to the United States to sign his contract with UTB/TSC, then returned to Poland the next day to marry fellow chess player Alejandra Guerrero Rodriguez of Durango, Mexico.

“One of the benefits of playing chess is that you meet the best people in the world, and that includes my wife,” Macieja said. “We had met at a tournament. Later, she invited me to Mexico to give a training to the best scholastic students in the state of Durango, as they were preparing for the national championship. So, I went, and the students played very well.”

As newlyweds, the couple moved to Brownsville, starting the next chapter of their lives as they made Texas their new home.

CREATING GREATNESS

Macieja has coached dozens of students in chess at UTRGV since becoming coach in December 2012, recruiting students from around the world to curate the best of the best college players for competition. His endgame – winning big – unarguably has made UTRGV one of the best chess colleges in the country.

The secret to recruiting the top players, he says, is networking.

“Many people know me, or my name, in the chess community,” Macieja said. “When I approach them, it’s easy to have a conversation and share why joining the team at UTRGV will be beneficial for them.”

Once he has assembled the best team, Macieja mentors student teammates through the guidelines set for collegiate players by the U.S. Chess Federation, and by UTRGV. Team members are required to attend practices and trainings, which are key to success, he said.

When training for pivotal tournaments like the national President’s Cup – often referred to as the Final Four of Chess – the team participates in as many training tournaments as possible to prepare, both in person and online.

Macieja said he feels both blessed and privileged to be able to coach the UTRGV Chess Team and help young players find success.

“I really enjoy every aspect of coaching,” he said. “I like to meet people from all over the world and learn about different cultures, ways of thinking, and even learn different languages.”

BEYOND CHESS

Among Macieja’s other cerebral interests is physics, in which he holds a master’s degree and has completed doctorate studies ABD (all but dissertation.) During his professional career in Poland, most of his time was split between chess and his academic studies, he said.

“Physics lies deep in my heart,” he said. “I check all the news and I’m very happy if there is some new discovery. I check who wins prizes, and I also stay in touch with my university where I studied physics in Poland.”

When not coaching, Macieja spends time with his family. Every year, he travels to Poland to spend summer and winter time with his mother – who explained that chess game in the park to a 5-year-old Bartek and ignited his passion for the game.

Macieja and his wife have a daughter, 12-year-old Sofi, whom he refers to as a native Brownsvillian because she was born there. Sofi’s main passions in life are mathematics, art and – yes, chess.

OFF TO THE PRESIDENT’S CUP

The UTRGV Chess Team will put all those practices and trainings to use April 4-6 during the President’s Cup, when they compete against longtime rivals – UT Dallas, Webster University and St. Louis University – for the top spot in national collegiate chess.

The team previously brought home the title three consecutive times in 2018, 2019 and 2021. (The President’s Cup was not held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.) The team is vying for its fourth national win.

UTRGV will hold sendoff celebrations for the departing team on Thursday, April 3. The Brownsville event will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in La Sala of the Student Union, while the Edinburg celebration will occur from noon to 1 p.m. in the Student Union, featuring light refreshments. Macieja and the team will attend only the Brownsville event in recognition of their achievements.