While the USCL has temporarily lost the Los Angeles franchise, that hasn’t stopped the League from growing still as with the addition of these three teams, there will be twenty teams in the 2015 campaign - the largest number of teams in League history as we approach the USCL’s eleventh season.
With a very strong chess program at Texas Tech, just like their cross-state university rivals, UT Dallas and UT Brownsville, it’s no surprise to see a Texas Tech based team, the Lubbock Tornadoes, join the USCL. Their team will be managed by FM Steven Breckenridge who will also be playing on the team and leading them will be GM Alex Onischuk and GM Elshan Moradiabadi, a very strong contingent which should make the Tornadoes formidable competitors from the start.
Also joining the League will be the Minnesota Blizzard. The Blizzard will be managed by Patrick Tang, the father of IM Andrew Tang who will be playing on the team. The Minnesota team will be lead by the recently relocated 2014 USCL MVP, super-GM Wesley So as well as GM Mauricio Flores, another team which will be very strong at the top and thus undoubtedly also a very serious new contender in the USCL.
The final team to join will be the San Diego Surfers, nicely filling the gap created in Southern California caused by the temporary departure of the Los Angeles Vibe. The Surfers will be managed by former Dallas Destiny manager, IM Keaton Kiewra, who will also be one of the top players on the team. The Surfers’ top player will be the strong GM Yaroslav Zherebukh, a recent convert to the US Federation. Despite the firepower that he brings to the table, the San Diego team will overall perhaps be one of the most balanced teams in the League, likely to have a good portion of their roster being players rated between 2300 and 2400.
The League looks forward to the new intrigue and publicity that these new teams will add to the USCL along with the many additional strong players their inclusion will allow to compete in the League. Stay tuned as we near the next season as we will continue to announce new developments as they occur, the next one on the block being the announcement of the 2015 Schedule which should happen within the next couple of weeks!