Webster University 2016 Final Four Team

Webster University - SPICE (by USCF rating order) 2016 Final Four Team
Mascot: Gorlok

GM Liem "Man of Steel" Le (Vietnam) - Junior/Finance - 2773
GM Ray "Fearless Attacker" Robson (USA) - Junior/International Studies - 2746
GM Illya "The Brain" Nyzhnyk (Ukraine) - Sophomore/Computer Science - 2720
GM Aleksandr "The Czar" Shimanov (Russia) - Grad Student/MBA - 2708
GM Vasif "Mr. CrossFit" Durarbayli (Azerbaijan) - Senior/Economics - 2686
GM Fidel "Pinar Romancer" Corrales Jimenez (Cuba) - Senior/Computer Science - 2593

Head Coach: GM Susan Polgar
Coach & Team Strategist: FM Paul Truong
Team Assistants: GM Manuel Leon Hoyos, GM Denes Boros, GM Ashwin Jayaram, IM Eric Rosen, IM Irene Sukandar, WGM Katerina Nemcova
The following 4 universities have qualified for the prestigious annual College Chess Final Four Championship:

• Webster University #1 seed
• Texas Tech #2 seed
• University of Texas RGV #3 seed
• Columbia University #4 seed

Round 1 (10 am – April 2):
Webster vs Columbia / Texas Tech vs UT RGV

Round 2 (5 pm –  April 2):
Webster vs UT RGV / Texas Tech vs Columbia

Round 3 (9 am – April 3):
Webster vs Texas Tech / UT RGV vs Columbia

Rules for the 2016 Final 4 of College Chess 

Eligibility:  Each player must satisfy the eligibility requirements established by the USCF College Chess Committee (CCC).  The requirements are the same as those for the Pan-American tournament played Dec 26-29.  If not already provided in advance, each team must furnish the Chief TD with their Eligibility Letter printed on University stationery on Friday evening at the Team Captains’ Meeting. 

Teams:  Each team has four players and up to two alternates.  Board-order based on March ratings (50-point transpositions allowed among USCF ratings) is also determined in the same way as for the Pan-American.

Scoring: The President’s Cup is a Team Round Robin scored by total individual points.  In the event of a tie, the teams are declared Co-champions.  The following tie-breaking systems are for sole possession of the President’s Cup and will be applied in this order:

1.  Total team match wins.
2.  Head-to-head outcome.
3.  Armageddon (5-4 minute “shootout”).  White must win with 5 minutes, and Black must win or draw with 4 minutes.  There is no delay or increment time.  Winner of a coin toss chooses color.  Each team selects one team member to represent them.  This team member can be any Player or Alternate from your Official Team Roster for the tournament, it does not have to be your “Board 1” player.

Team rosters:  Each team’s Official Roster must be presented to the Chief TD no later than Friday at the Team Captains’ Meeting.  Rosters will identify which team member is the Team Captain.  If a Team’s roster is not in Board Order for Round 1, the Team Captain must ensure the Chief TD is aware of your team’s Round 1 lineup.  Round 1 Lineups will be posted by the Chief TD one hour before the start of the round.  After Round 1, Team Lineups for Rounds 2 and 3 must be submitted to the Chief TD at least one hour prior to the beginning of the next round.  Otherwise, if the Chief TD does not receive a Lineup change, he will assume the previous round’s lineup is being used for the next round.  The Chief TD will post the updated Team Lineups on the tournament web site as soon as possible and also will email copies to each team’s point of contact for the tournament.

Team Captains:  There will be a Captains’ Meeting on Friday evening immediately after the Team Dinner concludes.  It usually takes about 30 minutes.  It is at this meeting where we all agree upon rules for certain situations that are not specifically addressed.  At this meeting be prepared to provide the Chief TD with the phone number and email address of your team’s Captain and a backup point of contact.  The Chief TD will use this information to distribute instructions, Lineup Changes, etc. during the tournament.

Communicating with others During Play:  No player whose game is in progress may talk with another person without the Chief TD being present before the communications begin.  This includes players wanting to talk with their Team Captain about whether to accept or decline a draw offer made by the opponent.

Cell Phones, Other Communication Devices and Calculation Devices:  We will discuss this at the Captains’ Meeting on Friday night.  The Chief TD’s initial position is:  No player with a game in progress is allowed to physically possess (e.g. have on their person during the game) or to have access to any communication-capable or calculation-capable device.  If you are playing a game during the Round, don’t bring such devices into the Playing Room.

Sets, Boards and Clocks:  DGT Boards will be provided by the Tournament Organizer for play.  They must be used.  The TD is responsible for the Time Control programmed into the clocks provided by the Organizer, not for incorrect Time Controls set on clocks provided by a team.

Pairings:  The team pairings/seeds are predetermined by the March 2016 US Chess Rating Supplement.  There will be a drawing for Round 1 and Round 3 colors on Board 1 at the Friday evening meeting before the tournament.

•  Rd 1:  1 vs. 4; 2 vs. 3
•  Rd 2:  1 vs. 3; 2 vs. 4
•  Rd 3:  1 vs. 2; 3 vs. 4

Official Time Controls: Game 90 with a 30-second increment each move.

The tournament is FIDE & US Chess rated.

Chief TD:  The Chief TD for this tournament is National Tournament Director and FIDE Arbiter Mike Hoffpauir from Virginia.  Mike has been the Chief TD (and organizer) of several College Final 4 Championships and also has been the Chief of the Pan Ams. 

2 world and 28 national titles since August 2012

If you would like to be a part of the #1 College Chess program in the United States, please feel free to contact me (SusanPolgar@aol.com). Full and partial scholarships available for qualified student players.

Webster University – SPICE Chess Program Top Facts

1. Webster University has 10 Grandmasters, and players from 16 different countries. The SPICE program has 4 World Champions, 12 Olympians, and 19 National Champions…
2. Webster University chess team has been ranked #1 in Division I College Chess since its inception in August 2012 (with 4 freshmen and 1 sophomore on the A team), which is over 125 consecutive weeks.
3. Webster University A team has never relinquished the top ranking and has never lost a match.
4. Webster University team members won 2 world championships and 29 national titles in the past 2+ years.
5. Webster University won the 2013 PanAm InterCollegiate Chess Championship with a perfect 6-0 score, and won all 3 Final Four matches, to close out the season with an unprecedented perfect 9-0.
6. Webster University sponsors and hosts the annual SPF Girls’ Invitational, the most prestigious all-girls event in the U.S., as well as the annual prestigious SPICE Cup.
7. Students of Webster University actively volunteer in the community to bring chess into schools. They, as a team, also maintain a very high GPA.
8. The SPICE chess program has won 5 consecutive Final Four Championships, and has not lost a match in 5 straight Final Four Championships.

2014 – 2015 Webster University – SPICE chess team members

1. GM Le Quang Liem (Vietnam) – World Blitz Champion, National Champion, Olympian
2. GM Wesley So (Philippines) – World University Champion, National Champion, Olympian (turned full time pro after winning Millionaire Chess)
3. GM Illia Nyzhnyk (Ukraine) – National Champion, European Champion
4. GM Ray Robson (USA) – National Champion, Olympian
5. GM Georg Meier (Germany) – National Champion, Olympian, European Champion
6. GM Vasif Durarbayli (Azerbaijan) – World Youth Champion, National Champion, Olympiad
7. GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez (Cuba) – National Champion, Olympian
8. GM Manuel Leon Hoyos (Mexico) – National Champion, Olympian
9. GM Andre Diamant (Brazil) – National Champion, Olympian
10. GM Denes Boros (Hungary) – National Champion
11. GM-elect Ashwin Jayaram (India) – National Champion
12. IM Vitaly Neimer (Israel) – National Champion
13. FM Jake Banawa (USA) – National Champion
14. WGM Anna Sharevich (Belarus) – National Champion, Olympian
15. WGM Katerina Nemcova (Czech Republic) – National Champion, Olympian
16. WIM Inna Agrest (Sweden) – National Champion, Olympian (graduated in December 2014)
17. WFM Luisa Mercado (Colombia) – National Champion
18. Mara Kamphorst (Brazil) – National Champion
19. Paul M. Truong (USA) – National Champion
20. Tori Whatley (USA)
21. Reginald Jackson (USA)

Webster students are around the world. There are 22,000+ students enrolled at Webster University – with students from 50 states and 148 countries around the world.

Webster University offers academic excellence in more than 100 programs offered at a vibrant home campus and at locations throughout the world, with all the benefits of a student-centered education and a real-world perspective.

http://www.webster.edu

A historic mission. An inviting home campus: Founded in 1915, with five students and a pioneering educational mission, Webster has a history of shaping the future of higher education.

Local and global: With 22,000 students at locations around the world, Webster is defining global education for the future.

Students from 50 states and 148 countries: You experience the diversity of the world in a richly educational way.

Average class size: 10 : Small, highly interactive classes encourage innovation, collaboration, and self-expression.

Faculty-to-student ratio: 1:9 : Students have all the advantages of a student-centered university that supports personalized learning and gives every student an opportunity to excel.

Global locations: We have metropolitan, military, and corporate locations around the world, as well as traditional campuses in Asia, Europe, and North America. Our Study Abroad programs are ranked in the top 2 percent by U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges 2013.”

163,000 Alumni: A growing and involved alumni community are connecting online, in-person, and at worldwide events.

One and only: Webster is the only Tier 1, private, nonprofit university with campus locations around the world including metropolitan, military, online and corporate, plus traditional, American-style campuses in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia.

Diversity is a core value: Webster is one of the most diverse universities in the country, which is an enduring part of our history and central to our future.Undergraduate and graduate programs. More than 75 different majors and around 60 graduate programs in a supportive, educational environment that allows students to excel.

A global, Tier 1, private, nonprofit university

* Global feature in academic programs. Globalized curriculum is our distinctive hallmark
* Academic programs engage your mind and stimulate your understanding beyond your home country and culture
* Every student experiences a global learning component
* Every student is exposed to a worldwide network of fellow students who live, work and study around the U.S., Europe, Africa and Asia
* Learn in class today and apply it in real life tomorrow
* Five schools and colleges: Arts & Sciences; Business & Technology; Communications; Education; and Fine Arts

Titles won by Webster University – SPICE since August 2012 (2 world titles & 30 national titles)

World Championships (2)

June 2013
– 2013 World Blitz Championship: 1st place (GM Le Quang Liem)
July 2013
– 2013 World University Championship: 1st place (GM Wesley So)

National Championships (29)

August 2012
– 2012 U.S. Open Championship: 1st place (GM Manuel Leon Hoyos)
– 2012 U.S. Open Rapid (g/15) Championship: 1st place (GM Andre Diamant and IM Vitaly Neimer)
– 2012 U.S. Open Blitz Championship: 1st place (GM Andre Diamant), 2nd place (GM Anatoly Bykhovsky)
December 2012
– 2012 PanAm Intercollegiate Championship: Both A and B team tied for 1st place
– 2012 PanAm Intercollegiate Championship: Top reserve player (GM Manuel Leon Hoyos)
April 2013
– 2013 College Chess Final Four: 1st place (GMs Georg Meier, Wesley So, Ray Robson, Fidel Corrales Jimenez, Manuel Leon Hoyos, and Anatoly Bykhovsky)
June 2013
– 2013 National Open: 1st place (GMs Wesley So and Manuel Leon Hoyos)
– 2013 National Open Blitz Championship: 1st place (GM Wesley So)
– 2013 National G/10 Championship at National Open: 1st place (GM Wesley So)
August 2013
– 2013 US Open G/15 Championship: 1st place (GM Manuel Leon Hoyos)
– 2013 US Open Blitz Championship: 1st place (GM Manuel Leon Hoyos)
October 2013
– 2013 US National G/30 Championship: 1st place (GM Georg Meier)
– 2013 US National G/60 Championship: 1st place (GM Georg Meier)
December 2013
– 2013 PanAm Intercollegiate Championship: 1st place (A team won with a perfect 6-0 score)
– 2013 PanAm Intercollegiate Championship: Top board 1 (GMs Le Quang Liem, Fidel Corrales Jimenez)
– 2013 PanAm Intercollegiate Championship: Top board 2 (GM Anatoly Bykhovsky)
– 2013 PanAm Intercollegiate Championship: Top board 3 (GM Wesley So)
– 2013 PanAm Intercollegiate Championship: Top board 4 (GM Ray Robson)
– 2013 PanAm Intercollegiate Championship: Top overall performance (GM Wesley So)
April 2014
– 2014 College Chess Final Four: 1st place (GMs Le Quang Liem, Wesley So, Georg Meier, Ray Robson, Fidel Corrales Jimenez, and Anatoly Bykhovsky)
June 2014
– 2014 National Open Blitz Championship: 1st place (GM Wesley So)
July 2014
– 2014 World Open: 1st place tie (GM Illia Nyzhnyk)
August 2014
– 2014 US Open: 1st place tie (GM Illia Nyzhnyk)
December 2014
– 2014 PanAm InterCollegiate Championship: 1st place (A team scored 5.5 – 0.5)
– 2014 PanAm InterCollegiate Championship: Top board 1 (IM Ashwin Jayaram)
– 2014 PanAm InterCollegiate Championship: Top board 2 (GM Illia Nyzhnyk)
– 2014 PanAm InterCollegiate Championship: Top board 3 (Ray Robson)
– 2014 PanAm InterCollegiate Championship: Top board 4 (Andre Diamant)
February 2015
- 2015 USATN: Top College Team (WGMs Anna Sharevich, Katerina Nemcova, WFM Luisa Mercado, Mara Kamphorst)
March 2015
– 2015 College Chess Final Four: 1st place (GMs Le Quang Liem, Ray Robson, Illia Nyzhnyk, Vasif Durarbayli, Fidel Corrales, Andre Diamant)

2014 Final Four Champions, Back to Back - Webster University!

Round 1

Webster University won 4-0 University of Illinois
TTU won 2.5-1.5 UMBC

Round 2

UMBC lost 1.5-2.5 Webster University
University of Illinois lost 1-3 TTU

Round 3

TTU lost 1-3 Webster University
UMBC won 4-0 University of Illinois

2014 Final standings:

1. Webster University 9.5 points
2. UMBC 7
3. TTU 6.5
3. University of Illinois 1.0

Round 1

Webster University won 4-0 University of Illinois
UTD won 3-1 UMBC

Round 2

UMBC lost 1.5-2.5 Webster University
University of Illinois lost 1-3 UTD

Round 3

UTD lost 1-3 Webster University
UMBC won 2.5-1.5 University of Illinois

2013 Final standings:

1. Webster University 9.5 points
2. UTD 7
3. UMBC 5
4. Illinois 2.5

Welcome to the life of a female coach in a male dominated world!

Webster - SPICE Top 10 Facts

1. Webster University chess team has been ranked #1 in Division I College Chess since its inception in August 2012 (with 4 freshmen and 1 sophomore in the A team)!

2. Webster University A team has never relinquished the top ranking!

3. Webster University A team has never lost a match!

4. Webster University won the last 2 straight Final Four Championships, both by 2.5 points, the largest ever margin in College Chess history!

5. Webster University won the last PanAm InterCollegiate Chess Championship with a perfect 6-0 score, and won all 3 Final Four matches, to close out the season with an unprecedented perfect 9-0!

6. Webster University sophomore Wesley So won the World University Championship, and is ranked #15 in the world!

7. Webster University freshman won the World Blitz Championship, and is ranked in the top 40 in the world!

8. Webster University sponsors and hosts the annual SPF Girls' Invitational, the most prestigious all-girls event in the U.S., as well as the prestigious annual SPICE Cup.

9. Students of Webster University actively volunteer in the community to bring chess into schools. They, as a team, also maintain a very high GPA.

10. The SPICE chess program has won 4 consecutive Final Four Championships, and has not lost a match in 4 straight Final Four Championships!

In spite of the clear facts that no other university even came close to the unprecedented achievements of Webster University - SPICE, and its students, we have NEVER won the College of the Year honor. Can you imagine Connecticut or Florida State not getting the top honor after winning the division I basketball and football national championships?

But in chess, that honor went to a team which did not make the Final Four last year, and a team which finished 3rd this year. There was even rumbling about not allowing any female coach (me) in men's division I chess.

That idea quickly went away after seeing how chess fans react, especially on Social Media. One fellow male coach even told me that the ONLY reason why my teams win is because of my looks, and it has nothing to do with my coaching ability and credentials!

Welcome to the world of College Chess in America! Welcome to the life of a female coach in a male dominated world!

Titled won by Webster University - SPICE 

World Championships (2)

June 2013

- 2013 World Blitz Championship: 1st place (GM Le Quang Liem)

July 2013

- 2013 World University Championship: 1st place (GM Wesley So)

National Championships (23)

August 2012

- 2012 U.S. Open Championship: 1st place (GM Manuel Leon Hoyos)
- 2012 U.S. Open Rapid (g/15) Championship: 1st place (GM Andre Diamant and IM Vitaly Neimer)
- 2012 U.S. Open Blitz Championship: 1st place (GM Andre Diamant), 2nd place (GM Anatoly Bykhovsky)

December 2012

- 2012 PanAm Intercollegiate Championship: Both A and B team tied for 1st place
- 2012 PanAm Intercollegiate Championship: Top reserve player (GM Manuel Leon Hoyos)

April 2013

- 2013 College Chess Final Four: 1st place (GMs Georg Meier, Wesley So, Ray Robson, Fidel Corrales Jimenez, Manuel Leon Hoyos, and Anatoly Bykhovsky)

June 2013

- 2013 National Open: 1st place (GMs Wesley So and Manuel Leon Hoyos)
- 2013 National Open Blitz Championship: 1st place (GM Wesley So)
- 2013 National G/10 Championship at National Open: 1st place (GM Wesley So)

August 2013

- 2013 US Open G/15 Championship: 1st place (GM Manuel Leon Hoyos)
- 2013 US Open Blitz Championship: 1st place (GM Manuel Leon Hoyos)

October 2013

- 2013 US National G/30 Championship: 1st place (GM Georg Meier)
- 2013 US National G/60 Championship: 1st place (GM Georg Meier)

December 2013

- 2013 PanAm Intercollegiate Championship: 1st place (A team won with a perfect 6-0 score)
- 2013 PanAm Intercollegiate Championship: Top board 1 (GMs Le Quang Liem, Fidel Corrales Jimenez)
- 2013 PanAm Intercollegiate Championship: Top board 2 (GM Anatoly Bykhovsky)
- 2013 PanAm Intercollegiate Championship: Top board 3 (GM Wesley So)
- 2013 PanAm Intercollegiate Championship: Top board 4 (GM Ray Robson)
- 2013 PanAm Intercollegiate Championship: Top overall performance (GM Wesley So)

April 2014

- 2014 College Chess Final Four: 1st place (GMs Le Quang Liem, Wesley So, Georg Meier, Ray Robson, Fidel Corrales Jimenez, and Anatoly Bykhovsky)

June 2014

- 2014 National Open Blitz Championship: 1st place (GM Wesley So)

July 2014

- 2014 World Open: 1st place tie (GM Illia Nyzhnyk)

August 2014

- 2014 US Open: 1st place tie (GM Illia Nyzhnyk)

The importance of College Chess

Paul Truong, coach of the Webster chess team and Director of Marketing & PR for SPICE, just made the following statement regarding the recent big surge in interest in College Chess. Due to space limitation, he decided to have it posted here and provided a link for readers of the Washington Post and FOX Sports:

First of all, kudos to Mike Rosenwald, the author of this article, and Louis Ojeda, Jr., author of this article for covering a very interesting issue.

Secondly, I would like to correct a few misconceptions about College Chess, budgets, and recruiting, etc. College Chess has a long history; however, it has grown dramatically in the past seven years, and now receives serious attention from the media.

As I pointed out to Mike in an email, the secret of building a national championship team has little to do with an arms race. As a head coach, Susan Polgar has led her teams to four consecutive Final Four Championship wins with 2 different universities. The first victory came with a team that was dubbed the “Cinderella team,” the organization with the smallest budget, and by far the lowest rank. No team had ever won the Final Four being the bottom seed until her team did it in April 2011.

So how did they win? Hard work, team work, good strategy, and good coaching! She knows how to coach and how to motivate her players. Her players respect her and they will always fight hard for her.

She is labeled as the most controversial chess coach. Why? Because she sets very high standards for her students, and constantly challenges them to achieve these goals! She demands that her student players focus on their school work. The average GPA of the national championship team is around 3.6 or 3.7, with multiple players with 4.0. She insists that they work out physically to stay in shape and enhance stamina. Many members of her team do CrossFit, and all of them pay attention to fitness. She also asks her players to volunteer in the community, conduct themselves professionally on and off the board, respect one another, stay out of trouble, and be productive global citizens. Some think that is too much to ask. She disagrees.

Today, many universities have world class coaches such as Onischuk, Macieja, Yermolinsky, Milovanovic, etc. Being the only female coach in a division I men’s chess team, Susan has to work much harder to prove that she belongs on the male-dominated elite level. Therefore, she knows that her every move will be severely scrutinized by doubters and sexist individuals. Being a pioneer is never an easy task.

As for the size of the budgets and scholarships, this is another major misconception. As the Washington Post has pointed out, UMBC provides full tuition and a $15,000-a-year food and housing stipend for their fellows. That is quite a bit more than Webster currently offers (when the full value is calculated) and there is no way Webster could match that. The size of chess teams from UT Dallas, Texas Tech, and UT Brownsville, etc. also are all bigger than Webster, so when the full value of their programs are calculated, they too exceed what Webster spends. Webster provides academic and need-based scholarships to the Chess team members, and those students qualify for these types of scholarships just as any other students.

To compare budgets between various chess programs is like apples and oranges. Some programs count office space, utilities, office supplies, and other various miscellaneous expenditures as a part of their budgets while others do not. Some programs are under various Deans / Provosts, which means that whole sections of their budgets aren’t actually counted as being part of the “chess” budget, but rather are calculated as part of someone else’s expenditures. As the famous saying by Mark Twain: "There are lies, damned lies and statistics." This was explained to reporters, but all failed to mention this in their stories.

Another completely false narrative is the reason why Webster University chess team is ranked #1 in the country and won the last two Final Fours. Many have repeated the myth all members of the Texas Tech team left with Susan and enrolled at Webster. This is completely false and can easily be debunked. The fact is four of the five top members of the Webster University National Championship team were freshmen (Grandmasters Wesley So of the Philippines, Ray Robson of the US, Manuel Leon Hoyos of Mexico, and Fidel Corrales of Cuba), and therefore weren’t even in college when Susan left for Webster. This year, grandmaster Le Quang Liem of Vietnam also came to Webster as a freshman. Only one of the top five players on Webster’s team transferred from Texas Tech. He was a sophomore when he did that, having only spent one year at Texas Tech.

All of Webster’s players were heavily recruited by other universities, including many of our rivals. So why did they choose to come to Webster? They did not choose Webster because of better scholarships. If they were interested in a free education, they easily could have gone to other schools that offer top chess players full scholarships, room, board, book money and stipends, something Webster does not do. These players chose Webster because of the reputation of the coach, just like Nick Saban of Alabama football or Mike Mike Krzyzewski of Duke basketball. These players want to learn and play for the best. Simple as that! None of them has ever heard of Webster until the chess program was announced.

And Susan helps them achieve success. Two of her players won world titles last year. Le Quang Liem became the World Blitz Champion and Wesley So won the World University Championship. Three of her players qualified for the World Cup. Eight of her players are Olympians from different countries. This is unprecedented. When Wesley So came to Webster University in August 2012, he was ranked 99 in the world. After a little more than a year training with Susan, he shot up to #18, while winning 11 big events. This is why there is a long list of students wanting to train with the Head Coach of Webster.

So what is the bottom line? Webster University is a small global private tier one university in St. Louis with students from all 50 states and 148 countries around the world. They offer excellent education but they do not have the billions of endowment as some other big universities. They obviously could not match the financial numbers of other giant schools. But the top administrators at Webster University, President Stroble and Provost Schuster made a compelling pitch to why Susan Polgar and her SPICE (Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence) program should relocate to Webster in the Summer of 2012. They understood the value which a top level chess program can bring to any institution in major publicity, image building, and recruiting, etc. They also understood the importance of chess in education and in the global market. A few weeks ago, Susan co-taught a credit course at Webster with Professor O’Bannon: SPICE’ing up Business Strategy with Chess. It was a huge success with big turnout. She is working with several Deans and Professors to incorporate chess into various grad/undergrad courses. This is just the beginning of the new revolution, chess in higher education and the real business world.

That is why she picked Webster over others, and for less money. Winning national championships is great but it is a secondary thing. Giving young deserving students a great education, on and off the chess board, and building characters, are much more important. And this is what Webster University and SPICE is all about!

Paul Truong
Coach of the Chess Team
Webster University

#1 again in 2013

Sep 6, 2013, 12:58pm CDT
Webster Chess team: We’re No. 1
Matthew Hibbard
Social Engagement Manager
St. Louis Business Journal

Webster University’s chess team has only completed two weeks of the school year, but they’re already getting high marks in the chess community.

The chess team was ranked the No. 1 Division I team in the United States by the U.S. Chess Federation, according to Susan Polgar, Webster’s coach, chess grandmaster and World and Olympiad champion.

Polgar said the top rating allows Webster to attract the best chess players in the world and further brands St. Louis, and specifically Webster, as a chess powerhouse.

“Everyone wants to be the top seed,” Polgar said. “It’s a great honor.”

Although the distinction puts the chess club in the spotlight, it also comes with added pressure to keep its No. 1 status. To keep the positive momentum strong, Polgar plans to harness the power of her 14 chess players.

That team includes two chess champions, Wesley So and their newest member, Le Quang Liem. Liem joined the team this semester from Vietnam, Polgar said.

“It’s always a big challenge as a coach to make sure individual stars work together as a team,” she said. “Adding new team members changes the chemistry.”

If she can get that chemistry just right, Webster may have what it takes to keep that No. 1 status till the end.

Polgar and her Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence relocated in June 2012 to Webster University.

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com

2013-2014 Webster University Chess Team

http://www.webster.edu/spice

A new year of College Chess has begun and Webster University is once again the #1 ranked Division I team in United States (both USCF and FIDE ratings). There are 9 grandmasters from 9 different countries on this year's roster. 

Here are top 10 rated players of Webster University:

Title - Name - FIDE - USCF 

GM Le Quang Liem - Vietnam - 2702 / 2802 (World Blitz Champion - Olympian - Former #1 under 21 in the world) 

GM Wesley So - Philippines - 2710 / 2747 (World University Champion - National Open Champion - Olympian - #2 under 21 in the world) 

GM Georg Meier - Germany - 2630 / 2693 (Olympian - European Team Champion - 2 time Final Four Champion)
 
GM Ray Robson - USA - 2623 / 2707 (Olympian - US Junior Champ - Final Four Champion)
 
GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez - Cuba - 2640 (Olympian - Final Four Champion - Philadelphia Open Champion)
 
GM Manuel Leon Hoyos - Mexico - 2552 / 2614 (Olympian - US Open Triple Crown Champion & National Open Champion)
 
GM Anatoly Bykhovsky - Israel - 2521 / 2618 (3-time Final Four Champion)
 
GM Denes Boros - Hungary - 2502 / 2546 (Final Four Champion)
 
GM Andre Diamant - Brazil - 2465 / 2526 (Final Four Champion)
 
IM Vitaly Neimer - Isarel - 2384 / 2449(Final Four Champion)

FM Jake Banawa
WIM Inna Agrest
Mara Kamphorst
Paul M. Truong

About Webster University Chess Team

Webster University Final Four roster:

- Grandmaster Wesley So (board 1 for the Filipino Olympiad team), freshman, who is the No. 1-ranked overall player in the Philippines and No. 2 under 21 player in the world. He also recently reached the "Super" Grandmaster rating, one of only about 50 current players in the entire chess world of more than 700 million players to break that mark.

- Grandmaster Ray Robson (member of the US Olympiad team), freshman, who is the youngest American ever to achieve the Grandmaster title, currently ranked No.6 overall in the U.S. and No. 9 under 21 player in the world.

- Grandmaster Georg Meier (board 2 for the German national team), sophomore, ranked No. 2 overall in Germany. He is a member of the last 2 Final Four Championship teams.

- Grandmaster Fidel Corrales Jimenez (board 3 for Cuban Olympiad team), freshman, the overall No. 3-ranked player in Cuba.

- Grandmaster Manuel Leon Hoyos (board 1 for Mexican Olympiad team), freshman, ranked No. 1 overall in Mexico and reigning U.S. Open Champion. (Alternate)

- Grandmaster Anatoly Bykhovsky, junior, ranked No. 20 overall in Israel. He was a member of the Final Four Championship teams for the past 3 straight years. (Alternate)

Chess Team Accomplishments

The Webster University chess team has been ranked #1 in Division I College Chess since its inception in August 2012. It has never relinquished the top ranking.

National Championships (9)

August 2012

- 2012 U.S. Open Championship: 1st place (GM Manuel Leon Hoyos)
- 2012 U.S. Open Rapid (g/15) Championship: 1st place (GM Andre Diamant and IM Vitaly Neimer)
- 2012 U.S. Open Blitz Championship: 1st place (GM Andre Diamant), 2nd place (GM Anatoly Bykhovsky)

December 2012

- 2012 PanAm Intercollegiate Championship: Both A and B team tied for 1st place
- 2012 PanAm Intercollegiate Championship: Top reserve player (GM Manuel Leon Hoyos)

April 2013

- 2013 College Chess Final Four: 1st place (GMs Georg Meier, Wesley So, Ray Robson, Fidel Corrales Jimenez, Manuel Leon Hoyos, and Anatoly Bykhovsky)

June 2013

- 2013 National Open: 1st place (GMs Wesley So and Manuel Leon Hoyos)
- 2013 National Open Blitz Championship: 1st place (GM Wesley So)

- 2013 National G/10 Championship at National Open: 1st place (GM Wesley So)

State Championships (3)

September 2012

- 2012 Missouri State Championship: 1st place (GM Denes Boros and GM Anatoly Bykhovsky)
- 2012 Missouri State Rapid Championship: 1st place (GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez)
- 2012 Missouri State Blitz Championship: 1st place (GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez)

Major International Events

August 2012

- 2012 World Chess Olympiad (Istanbul, Turkey): Team Silver in Group A (GM Ray Robson - USA)
- 2012 World Chess Olympiad (Istanbul, Turkey): Team Bronze in Group B (GM Wesley So - Philippines)

January 2013

- 2013 World Cup Qualifier: GM Wesley So qualified for the 2013 World Cup which will take place in Tromsø, Norway in August 2013

February 2013

- 2013 Reykjavik Open: Co-champion (GM Wesley So)
- 2013 Grenke Baden Baden Chess Classis: Webster GM Georg Meier drew the reigning World Champion Anand both games in their 2-game encounter

May 2013

- 2013 Calgary International: 1st place (GM Wesley So)

Major U.S. Events (7)

October 2012

- 2012 SPICE Cup Open: 1st place (GM Ray Robson), 2nd place (GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez), 3rd place (IM Vitaly Neimer)

November 2012

- 2012 Thanksgiving Open in St. Louis: 1st place (GMs Georg Meier, Fidel Corrales Jimenez, Denes Boros)
- 2012 SLCC GM Invitational: 1st place (IM Vitaly Neimer)

January 2013

- 2013 Cardinal Open: 1st place (GM Andre Diamant)

March 2013

- 2013 Philadelphia Open: 1st place (GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez)

April 2013

- 2013 St. Louis Open Championship: 1st place (GMs Wesley So, Georg Meier, and Manuel Leon Hoyos)

- 2013 Chicago Open: 1st place (Ray Robson)

Additional collegiate chess records

• 1st team in history (Webster University) to be ranked #1 in the nation in the first year of forming a team (August 2012 - now)
• 1st team in history (Webster University) to qualify for the Final Four in the first year of forming a team (December 2012)
• 1st team in history (Webster University) to be seeded #1 in the Final Four in the first year of forming a team (April 2013)
• 1st female (Susan Polgar) to coach a men's team to the National Championship (2011)
• 1st female (Susan Polgar) to coach a men’s team to back to back National Championships (2011-2012)
• 1st female (Susan Polgar) to coach a men’s team to 3 straight National Championships (2011-2013)
• 1st coach, male or female, to win National Championships with 2 different schools (TTU 2011-2012, and Webster U 2013)
• 1st college team with 4 GMs (Fall 2011)
• 1st college team with 5 GMs (Spring 2012)
• 1st college team with 8 GMs (Fall 2012)
• Most points scored in the Final Four (April 2013 - Webster University finished with 9.5 points)
• Largest margin of victory in the Final Four (April 2013 - Webster University finished 2.5 points ahead of 2nd place UTD)
• 1st person (Susan Polgar) to be named College Chess Coach of the Year (April 2013)

Another College Chess Record

After this past weekend at the St. Louis Open, 3 members of the Webster University Final Four Championship team are now above 2700 (USCF) at the same time. This is the first for any American collegiate chess team.

GM Wesley So is now at 2728 USCF. His LIVE FIDE rating is 2705, which makes him the 41st ranked player in the world. He is also the #2 junior in the world, and #1 in the Philippines.
 

GM Georg Meier is now at 2702 USCF and ranked among the top 100 in the world. He is the top German born player and a key member of the German European Championship team last year.
 

GM Ray Robson's latest rating is 2700 after the Final Four. He is currently the #1 American born (representing the US) player on both the USCF and FIDE list. He is also the #9 junior in the world.
 

All three are members of their national team at the Olympiad.

Incoming Webster U freshman GM Le Quang Liem of Vietnam is rated 2802 USCF and 2717 FIDE. He will be the first American collegiate player to be above 2800 in USCF rating. Liem is also the former #1 junior in the world and the #1 rated player from Vietnam.


 

There are 3 requirements for any SPICE members:

1. They must focus in their school work to maintain good grades. My standard is much higher than the standard required by the College Chess Committee. The grade point average of the team is around 3.6 / 4.0 and all students are taking full loads.

2. They must be willing to work hard on their chess to improve. So far, players from SPICE have all reached their peak ratings during their tenure with the program.

3. They must conduct themselves in a professional manner to represent themselves, Webster University, SPICE, their families, and their countries well. 

All The Right Moves

 

All The Right Moves 
Area boasts a pair of national chess team champions: Vianney High & Webster University 
by Jaime Mowers 

April 12, 2013

A pair of local chess teams are basking in the glow of recent national championship wins.

Webster University's Gorlocks and St. John Vianney High School's Golden Griffins are celebrating their national titles. Webster University won the Final Four of college chess in Rockville, Md., last weekend, while Vianney garnered top honors in its division in the U.S. Chess Federation's SuperNationals V K-12 tournament in Nashville.

Webster University's collegiate chess team is tops in the nation, having won the competition. Also known as The President's Cup, Webster entered the Final Four tournament as the top seed. The team has four starters and two alternates, all of whom are ranked as chess grandmasters by the World Chess Federation. In fact, the entire Webster chess team includes eight grandmasters -- unheard of in the world of collegiate chess.

The tournament ended just past noon on Sunday, April 7, with Webster University victorious in its match against the University of Texas-Dallas. A celebration welcoming the national champions back from the competition was held on Monday, April 8, in Marletto's Cafeteria on Webster University's main campus.

Webster's six Final Four team members include grandmasters Wesley So, Ray Robson, Georg Meier, Fidel Corrales, Manuel Leon Hoyos and Anatoly Bykhovsky.

Webster has been ranked number one in the nation since August 2012, when the team was officially formed. Susan Polgar, Webster's chess head coach, said this is the first time in history that a first-year collegiate chess team has gone to the Final Four, much less claim a national title.

Polgar said she hopes the team will have many more national championship titles in its future.

"It's a great honor and I'm very proud of bringing the first collegiate chess title to Webster University and St. Louis - I hope it's the first of many more," she said. "I'm very proud of the team. They've worked extremely hard over the past several months not only on their chess movements, but on their physical fitness to be ready for the competition."

Polgar said many people don't realize how demanding chess can be. The team played for 10 hours during the first day of competition and four hours on the second day.

"It's actually very grueling because of the length of the competitions," she said. "Even sitting and focusing your fullest attention for four or five hours at a time can be difficult."

Polgar would like to thank everyone who has supported the chess team including the Webster University administration, St. Louis and many community members.

The Final Four is the most prestigious team tournament in collegiate chess; the winner is known as the national champion of college chess. In addition to Webster University, the other three teems in the final four were the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, University of Texas-Dallas and University of Illinois.

More here.

An unprecedented move

The ‘Queen’ Wants to Turn Chess Into a Spectator Sport 
By Jason Fagone 
02.12.13 6:30 AM 
Wired Magazine

Julian Schuster first heard the rumor a year and a half ago. Susan Polgar, the legendary grand master known to journalists as “the Queen,” was unhappy in her current position as Texas Tech’s chess coach. She was feeling unappreciated. She had made this known to certain people in the tight-knit world of chess, and the news had traveled from one of these confidants, a foreign grand master living in Texas, to the ears of Schuster, a passionate fan of the game, in St. Louis.

He knew her story, of course; it had achieved the status of legend. Her father raised her and her two sisters to be chess prodigies. In the 1980s, the three Polgar sisters began showing up at tournaments and crushing all comers, men and women alike. At age 21, Susan, the eldest of the three, became the first woman to earn the title of grand master in the way men always had, by proving she could hold her own in competition against other grand masters. Once, over the course of 16 hours and 30 minutes, she played 326 chess games simultaneously, winning 309 of them—a world record at the time. She blazed a trail for women in the game.

Beyond her career at the board, Polgar had made a name for herself as a dominant coach—arguably the dominant coach—in the thriving if mostly invisible world of American collegiate chess. In 2007, at the age of 38, she took her first coaching job, at Texas Tech, whose team was then unranked. By 2010 she had led the Knight Raiders’ all-male squad to the President’s Cup, known as “the Final Four of college chess”; the following two years the Raiders won it all, topping not just Yale and Princeton but the two traditional chess powerhouses, the University of Texas at Dallas and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).

But the conflicts between Polgar and Texas Tech over the kind of issues usually associated with big-time football programs—scholarships, resources, the future of the team—were real, as Schuster, provost of Missouri’s Webster University, would soon learn. A small private school with an unusually dense network of international campuses, Webster lacked a chess team, despite the fact that its main campus was located just outside the city limits of America’s new chess capital. St. Louis is home to the top-ranked player in the US, 25-year-old Hikaru Nakamura, as well as one of the game’s most deep-pocketed benefactors, 68-year-old multimillionaire Rex Sinquefield, who stepped up to build the most opulent chess venue in the country and probably the world, the 6,000-square-foot, $1 million-plus Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis.

In the summer of 2011, Schuster, a native of the former Yugoslavia who grew up hearing tales of the Polgar sisters’ heroics, invited Susan to St. Louis. He gave her a tour of the Webster campus and, later, talked to her about the resources the school could provide if she decided to coach there. Polgar liked what she heard. In February 2012, she announced that she would be transferring to Webster as its new chess coach. But not only that; eight of her players would be transferring too. Webster would be picking up their scholarships. It was unprecedented: A college chess coach was shifting allegiance from one university to another and bringing a significant chunk of her team with her. No volleyball coach, no tennis or baseball coach, had ever done anything close. News of the deal made The New York Times, USA Today, National Public Radio, and even that custodian of the sporting zeitgeist, ESPN.com.

Polgar’s sudden departure from Texas Tech surprised her fellow collegiate chess coaches, but they couldn’t deny that the move made sense for Webster; they knew how useful chess could be for a school looking to boost its intellectual reputation. 

Full 11 page article here.

Open Letter to Key Members of College Chess

 

TO: Rusty Harwood

Chair, College Chess Committee

Copy: Al Lawrence (TTU), Alan Sherman (UMBC), Jim Stallings (UTD), Yasser Seirawan (Lindenwood), Paul Truong (Webster)

Dear Rusty,

In lieu of the unfortunate situation which took place at the latest PanAm Intercollegiate Chess Championship in Princeton regarding the "humanitarian" issue, I suggest one of the following to avoid this episode from ever happening again in the future:

- Permanent rule change

or

- Teams which may have this problem will need to make arrangements with their potential opponents prior to the start of the tournament to avoid this possibility

After a decision is made by the College Chess Committee, rules must once again be strictly enforced with no exception to ensure the spirit of fair play for all. Once rosters and lineups are finalized, no change should be allowed. This type of issue must be handled beforehand. Because this was not properly or timely executed at Princeton, multiple teams were unnecessarily effected when everything could have been avoided in a cordial and professional manner in the first place.

No team which plays by the rules should be penalized for no fault of their own. Webster University is compassionate about this sensitive human issue. We always put the welfare the students first. However, we play by the rules and we expect for the rules to be enforced.

When I faced the exact same situation with the exact same student some 8-9 months earlier, I found a solution to avoid conflict without bending any rule or asking for any exception. It can easily be done without creating disadvantages, discomfort, or unfairness to other teams in this prestigious event.

Thank you for addressing this sensitive issue.

Best wishes,

Susan Polgar

Director, Webster University - SPICE

Head Coach, Webster University Chess Team