The SPICE National Championship Records

The official records of SPICE National Championship Teams (3 wins - 3 ties - 0 loss at TTU and 15 wins - 0 tie - 0 loss at Webster).

We did not lose any match in 7 straight Final Four National Championships!

SPICE at TTU - 2011 (2 W - 1 T - 0 L) 7-5 – National Champions

W 2.5 - 1.5 vs UTB
T 2 - 2 vs UTD
W 2.5 - 1.5 vs UMBC

GM Anatoly Bykhovsky - GM Davorin Kuljasevic - IM Itsvan Sipos - GM Andre Diamant (Head Coach: GM Susan Polgar - Coach/Chief Strategist: FM Paul Truong)

SPICE at TTU - 2012 (1 W - 2 T - 0 L) 8-4 – National Champions

T 2 - 2 vs UMBC
W 4 - 0 vs NYU
T 2 - 2 vs UTD

GM Georg Meier - GM Elshan Moradiabadi - GM Anatoly Bykhovsky - GM Andre Diamant - GM Denes Boros - IM Vitaly Neimer (Head Coach: GM Susan Polgar - Coach/Chief Strategist: FM Paul Truong)

SPICE at Webster - 2013 (3 W - 0 T - 0 L) 9.5-2.5 – National Champions

W 4 - 0 vs U of IL
W 2.5 - 1.5 vs UMBC
W 3 - 1 vs UTD

GM Georg Meier - GM Wesley So - GM Ray Robson - GM Fidel Corrales - GM Manuel Leon Hoyos - GM Anatoly Bykhovsky (Head Coach: GM Susan Polgar - Coach/Chief Strategist: FM Paul Truong)

SPICE at Webster - 2014 (3 W - 0 T - 0 L) 9.5-2.5 – National Champions

W 4 - 0 vs U of IL
W 2.5 - 1.5 vs UMBC
W 3 - 1 vs TTUGM Le Quang Liem - GM Georg Meier - GM Wesley So - GM Ray Robson - GM Fidel Corrales - GM Anatoly Bykhovsky (Head Coach: GM Susan Polgar - Coach/Chief Strategist: FM Paul Truong)

SPICE at Webster - 2015 (3 W - 0 T - 0 L) 10-2 – National ChampionsW 3.5 - 0.5 vs UMBC
W 3.5 - 0.5 vs UTD
W 3 - 1 vs TTUGM Le Quang Liem - GM Ray Robson - GM Illia Nyzhnyk - GM Vasif Durarbayli - GM Fidel Corrales - GM Andre Diamant (Head Coach: GM Susan Polgar - Coach/Chief Strategist: FM Paul Truong)



SPICE at Webster – 2016 (3 W – 0 T – 0 L) 8.5-3.5 – National Champions
W 3.5 – 0.5 vs Columbia
W 2.5 – 1.5 vs UT RGV
W 2.5 – 1.5 vs TTU
GM Le Quang Liem – GM Illia Nyzhnyk – GM Aleksandr Shimanov – GM Ray Robson – GM Vasif Durarbayli – GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez (Head Coach: GM Susan Polgar – Coach/Chief Strategist: FM Paul Truong)



SPICE at Webster – 2017 (3 W – 0 T – 0 L) 8.0-4.0 – National Champions
W 3.0 – 1.0 vs TTU
W 2.5 – 1.5 vs UTD
W 2.5 – 1.5 vs SLU
GM Le Quang Liem – GM Illia Nyzhnyk – GM Ray Robson – GM Aleksandr Shimanov – GM Vasif Durarbayli – GM Priyadarshan Kannappan (Head Coach: GM Susan Polgar – Coach/Chief Strategist: FM Paul Truong – Assistants: GMs Manuel Leon Hoyos and Ashwin Jayaram)

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

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)

Finally hoisting the Final Four Championship Cup!

The Webster University Final Four Championship team finally has a chance to hoist the President's Cup today, April 29, instead of April 7 at the Closing Ceremony.

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.

Webster Celebrates College Chess Title

Webster Celebrates College Chess Title, As New Hire Pays Off 
by Alan Greenblatt 
April 08, 2013 3:39 PM 
NPR

If there's no such thing as bad publicity, how much is good publicity worth? Webster University wants to find out.

Last year, the university didn't have a chess team. On Sunday, its team took home the national college championship, the President's Cup, after winning what is often called the "Final Four" of chess.

Webster, which is located just outside of St. Louis, picked up its team nearly intact last year from Texas Tech. The university hired coach Susan Polgar, who had won two straight championships in Texas, and the whole team came along with her.

Webster's chess team includes eight grandmasters. It's become instantly so dominant that two of its squads qualified for the chess Final Four, although only one was allowed to play.

When it comes to winning championships, Polgar and her players "have been there, individually and collectively," Webster provost Julian Schuster said Monday at a campus rally celebrating the team's victory.

"Let us thank them for what they've done for us," Schuster said. "For the first time in the almost 100-year history of our university, we are the national champion."

Webster, which is now private and non-denominational, was founded as a Catholic women's college and has become known over the years for its performing arts programs and its business school. Its main campus is in the St. Louis suburb of Webster Groves, but Webster boasts almost 100 satellite campuses around the world.

Schuster said in an interview that chess was part of his upbringing in Yugoslavia and that his primary goal in bringing Polgar to Webster was incorporating the game into the intellectual life of the university.

Still, he added, "there's no doubt" that their victory is good news for the university.

At the celebration, members of Webster's media relations team counted reporters in attendance, noting that the weekend tournament had garnered the university national attention (including from NPR).

"The Washington Post was the big one," said Patrick Giblin, Webster's director of public relations, referring to a front-page story that ran Saturday.

Chess has become big business in the St. Louis area. The World Chess Hall of Fame moved to the city two years ago, while St. John Vianney High School in nearby Kirkwood won its second national championship this weekend.

Webster's own champions looked a little shy and sheepish as they entered the campus lounge with their big trophy in tow, joining school administrators and someone wearing the costume of the campus mascot, the cheetah-buffalo-St. Bernard blend Gorlok.

There were no pom-pom girls, tipped cars or burning mattresses, but there were cookies in the shapes of chess pieces.

"I wasn't even aware there was a team," said Brieanna Lee, a psychology major sitting in the lounge, eating french fries and ranch dressing.

But Lee admitted their victory in the chess Final Four was "an accomplishment." Other students who happened to be in the lounge said they "lived in the music basement" or were otherwise "too busy" to follow the chess team, but generally agreed its triumph would help their school nonetheless.

Success builds upon success. Most of Webster's grandmasters hail from other countries, but one of the players from Vianney's winning chess team has expressed an interest in joining them from neighboring Kirkwood.

"What we hope is that the success of our chess team will be perceived as the success of the university in general," Schuster says. "It will permeate through everything we do and will speak to how we do things in the future."

Source: http://www.npr.org

Bringing National Championships to St. Louis

St. Louis quietly celebrates two national chess titles
April 09, 2013 12:05 am • By Jesse Bogan 
St. Louis Post Dispatch

WEBSTER GROVES • As thousands gathered Monday for the Cardinals home opener, two other local teams -- the Gorloks and Golden Griffins -- were already celebrating national championships, but in a much lesser followed event: chess.

Webster University won the Final Four of college chess in Rockville, Md., over the weekend, while St. John Vianney High School took top honors in its division in the U.S. Chess Federation's Supernationals V K-12 tournament in Nashville.

The wins are the latest nod to St. Louis, home of the World Chess Hall of Fame, as it tries to establish itself as the chess mecca. 

As quietly as the game is played, so are its championship celebrations quiet compared with mainstream collegiate football and basketball competitions. About 100 people gathered Monday in a Webster University cafeteria to welcome their winning team home.

Some hooted and hollered. Other students watched curiously from a distance as they ate lunch in silence.

Julian Schuster, provost at Webster and chess enthusiast, told the crowd that the win came from "hard work" and "vision."

"This a great day for all of us," he said.

Not only is it the school's first national chess championship, it's the first year it fielded a team, school officials said. 

Webster's bid to become a chess powerhouse happened just nine months after luring grandmaster and coach Susan Polgar away from Texas Tech University in Lubbock.

Traditionally thought of as a man's game, Polgar has not only broken the mold, but dominated. Originally from Hungary, this is her third national collegiate chess championship in a row as head coach.

Two of the six players on Webster's winning team followed her from Lubbock. The four others recently came to Webster to play chess for Polgar and the Gorloks, named for the private school's mascot.

All six of the championship players -- including two alternates -- are grandmasters, or top players in chess.

"We hope its the first of many national titles," said Polgar, 44, who wore blue high heels, black slacks and coat with a white T-shirt -- "2013 National Champions."

The players come from all over the world. They are Georg "German Precision" Meier, Wesley "Asian Tiger" So, of the Philippines, Ray "Fearless Attacker" Robson, of Florida, Fidel "Casanova" Corrales Jimenez, of Cuba, Anatoly "Speedy Rocket" Bykhovsky, of Israel, and Manuel "Yucatan Conquistador" Leon Hoyos, of Mexico.

Bykhovsky, who followed Polgar from Texas Tech, won the last match of the tournament. The game lasted four hours. The junior is studying finance. He said he started playing chess young and became a grandmaster by 21.

"I am going to eat with my girlfriend, it's a nice day," he said of how he was going to celebrate.

Leon, 24, a freshman studying economics, won the U.S. Open and is a 4-time Mexican Open champion. He said that many things set his coach apart.

"I feel like I learn just speaking, knowing what her opinion is about many things," he said. 
But Leon couldn't visit long. He had an Italian exam to run to after the celebration in the cafeteria.

Meanwhile, Webster University won its tournament with 9.5 points, beating University of Texas-Dallas, which had 7 points, University of Maryland Baltimore County, 5, and the University of Illinois, 2.5.

Webster dethroned UMBC, the former powerhouse in Maryland. What's more, Alan Sherman, UMBC’s chess director, had predicted Webster would win.

“I think Webster just decided they wanted to win and if they invested more money, they could just outdo the others,” Sherman recently told the Washington Post. “They have the strongest team in the history of college chess. Unlike the UMBC model, where we ramped up over a period of five years, they bought their team in a year.”

Polgar left Texas Tech less than a year ago. Schuster, the Webster University provost, helped lure her here. Both he and school president Beth Stroble traveled to Maryland over the weekend to root for their team.

"Our goal is for these young people to be ambassadors of the university, which they are, and to graduate and go on to great lives," Stroble said in an interview.

A few minutes later, she told the celebratory crowd: "I am proud of an accomplishment that is as strategic and intellectual and academic as it is competitive in any other way."

As a player, Polgar said, she was the first woman to win the grandmaster title and the first woman to qualify for the men's world championship. Now, she said, she mainly just plays chess by computer.

As a coach, she said, she sets herself apart by training players not to attack early, but also by focusing on life away from the chess board. She said the team celebrates birthdays, plays soccer to try to have fun and be in a supportive environment.

"It's a combination of things," she said of her success in coaching. "High expectations. Working hard for it and focusing on team chemistry."

Physical fitness is part of it, too. It's not uncommon for a day's competition to last 10 hours.
"People usually don't realize how important endurance is in a chess competition," she said. "It's very grueling."

She said she left Texas Tech because of a lack of a budget that was promised. She said there was also a lack of understanding and respect for chess there. 

"You know how Texas is everything is about football, football, football, and then maybe some basketball and baseball, chess certainly is not on the list."

She said she liked the chess culture in St. Louis, which hosts the U.S. championship and other competitions.

"We are very comfortable with how chess is being respected as an activity, practically like football would be respected at Texas Tech," she said.

Regarding the small turnout compared with the Cardinals home opener, she said: "I understand it's not like baseball yet, but we are working on you guys."

Full article here: http://www.stltoday.com

Webster wins Final Four

Webster wins Final Four of chess, with UMBC finishing third 
By Michael S. Rosenwald,
April 07, 2013
Washington Post

Webster University won the Final Four of college chess in Rockville on Sunday, dominating the University of Texas-Dallas and the University of Maryland Baltimore County, the hometown favorite and former powerhouse.

UMBC finished third, behind UT-Dallas.

The victory was Webster’s first Final Four championship, but not the first title for its coach, Susan Polgar, who left her job directing the Texas Tech program last year after two consecutive Final Four victories.

Polgar’s team of grandmasters followed her to St. Louis — an unprecedented event in collegiate chess that made national headlines.

“I think Webster is now clearly the dominant force in chess,” said longtime UMBC chess director Alan Sherman. “There’s no doubt about that.”

UMBC perfected the modern collegiate chess model, offering scholarships to grandmasters from around the world, racking up championships and generating positive PR. But UMBC is increasingly the underdog now. The school has won just two Final Four titles since 2007 after winning four straight in the mid-2000s. Sherman predicted Webster’s win last week.

Webster finished with 9.5 points in the round robin tournament with four players competing for each team. UT-Dallas had 7 points, while UMBC had 5 and the University of Illinois scored just 2.5.

UMBC was out of the running for the title after the first two rounds on Saturday, when it scored just 2.5 points. The school lost its head-to-head match against Webster, 2.5-1.5, and fell to UT-Dallas, 3-1.

Webster and UT-Dallas squared off Sunday morning for the title, with each school playing four grandmasters. (UMBC came into the tournament with two grandmasters.) Webster won the round, 3-1.

“I’m very happy for the team and proud of the way we prepared,” said Polgar, whose bosses, the president and provost of Webster, traveled to Rockville for the tournament.

Polgar will not, however, bring home the tournament’s coveted President’s Cup trophy.

Before the tournament started, Polgar tweeted that her former employer, Texas Tech, “forgot to send back the President’s Cup. Now the winning team will not have the cup to bring back. 1st time cup was not returned.”

Source: http://articles.washingtonpost.com

History making feat

Webster University made history when it became the first St. Louis team ever to win a Final Four collegiate chess championship. Webster’s top-ranked chess team emerged victorious in the President’s Cup – also known as the Final Four of Collegiate Chess – a two-day throw-down that determines the national champion of college chess teams. The tournament was held Saturday and today in Rockville, Md.

This is the first time in history a team made it to the Final Four of Collegiate Chess in its first year at a school and also the first time that a first-year team has been ranked as the No. 1 seed in the Final Four. Webster’s chess team has ranked No. 1 since August 2012, when the team was officially formed.

Webster will welcome the national champions back to campus during a lunch-time ceremony on its Webster Groves campus Monday.

“Congratulations to all the members of our team and all who support them, as I know that they have worked hard to prepare for this moment,” said President Beth Stroble, who was in the Washington, D.C. area this weekend to watch the Final Four. “Their competitors were smart, tough, and skilled and there were many tense moments this weekend, which makes this championship particularly significant for Webster University. I couldn’t be prouder.”

“Today was a great day for chess, for Webster and for Webster’s chess team, and for all of our students who worked hard to win this tournament,” said Provost Julian Schuster, who also accompanied the team to the Final Four competition. “We are all winners because this accomplishment came about through the hard work and dedication from the people who love chess, who love Webster, and from all our supporters in the community. We are proud of all of our students and are proud of the chess program, and we look forward to many more years of championships.”


The Final Four is the most prestigious team tournament in collegiate chess; the winner is known as the national champion of college chess. To get to the Final Four, teams must first compete in the Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship, held each year during the last week of December. Only the top four teams in this event qualify for the Final Four. This year, in addition to Webster, other schools competing in the Final Four were the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, University of Texas-Dallas and University of Illinois.

In the round robin-format Final Four, each of the four school teams played in three rounds of competition, playing one full match against each of the other schools. Each game won was one point to the school, and each draw was one-half point. Game points determine the overall winner.

While Webster entered the competition in the top spot, the win was not easy. Webster swept Illinois in the first round, earning four points, and in the second round against Maryland the team drew three games and won the fourth. By the end of the day, Webster only led University of Texas by one-half point at 6.5 to 6.

In the final round on Sunday, Webster faced the Texas team. Two of the games were a draw, and Webster won the final two matches, earning 9.5 points to Texas’ 7.

“It was a nail-biter down to the final moments,” said Susan Polgar, the chess team coach. “We had a win and draw when the first two games ended in the third round, but with two more games going, there was still a chance that Texas could still defeat us. When we clinched the championship with a draw and a win on the last two boards, everyone in the room jumped to their feet in excitement.

“We are very appreciative of all the people at Webster who cheered us on, especially all the Webster alumni and employees in the D.C. area who were able to come to the championship to show us support,” she added.

During Sunday’s awards ceremony at the competition, Polgar was named the “College Chess coach of the year.” This is the third team in a row that Polgar has coached to a President’s Cup victory. Before joining Webster, Polgar was the coach for Texas Tech’s chess team, which won in 2011 and 2012.

With eight grand masters on its team, Webster sent six of them to the Final Four, including four freshmen who had never previously competed in the Final Four: Georg Meier, an international business major and a sophomore, Wesley So, a freshman finance major, Ray Robson, a freshman who is still exploring majors, Fidel Corrales Jimenez, a freshman computer science major, Anatoly Bykhovsky, a finance major and junior, and Manuel Leon Hoyos, an economics major and freshman.

Webster will host a ceremony for the winning team at 11:30 a.m. Monday, April 8 in Marletto’s, the student cafeteria located on the ground floor of Loretto Hall on the Webster Grove campus. The event is open to the campus community.

With its home campus in St. Louis, Webster University (www.webster.edu) is the only Tier 1, private, non-profit U.S.-based university providing a network of international residential campuses. Founded in 1915, Webster University’s campus network today includes metropolitan, military and corporate locations around the world, as well as traditional residential campuses in Asia, Europe and North America. The university is committed to delivering high-quality learning experiences that transform students for global citizenship and individual excellence.

For more information on Webster’s chess team, visit http://webster.edu/spice/.

You Should Have Had Webster in Your (Chess) Bracket

You Should Have Had Webster in Your (Chess) Bracket 

Webster University Chess Team Enters Tournament as No. 1 Seed Webster University is heading to the "Final Four of Collegiate Chess" (also known as the President’s Cup) April 6-7 in suburban Washington D.C. 

The tournament is the final throw-down in determining the U.S. collegiate team chess champion. 

ST. LOUIS, April 4, 2013 – The NCAA “Final Four” will be under way at the Georgia Dome this weekend, but there will be another Final Four tournament taking place at the same time: the "Final Four of Collegiate Chess" (also known as the President’s Cup), to be played among the nation’s top four college teams, April 6-7 in suburban Washington D.C. The tournament is the final throw-down in determining the U.S. collegiate team chess champion.

Webster will enter the tournament as the top seed, because of the players’ high international and national chess ratings and rankings. Webster’s 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 entire country of Canada only has nine grandmasters.

Susan Polgar, Webster’s chess head coach, said this is the first time in history that not only has a collegiate chess team made it to the Final Four in its first year at a school, but the first time that a first-year collegiate chess team has been ranked No. 1 in the Final Four. In fact, Webster has been ranked No. 1 since August 2012, when the team was officially formed. 

Webster’s six Final Four team members include:

*       Grandmaster Wesley So, 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 50current players in the entire chess world of more than 700 million players to break that mark. 
*       Grandmaster Ray Robson, 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, sophomore, ranked No. 2 overall in Germany. He is a member of the reigning Final Four Championship team.
*       Grandmaster Fidel Corrales Jimenez, freshman, the overall No. 3-ranked player in Cuba.
*       Grandmaster Manuel Leon Hoyos, freshman, ranked No. 1 overall in Mexico and reigning U.S. Open Champion. (alternate)
*       Grandmaster Anatoly Byhkovsky, junior, ranked No. 20 overall in Israel. (alternate) He was a member of the Final Four Championship team the past two years. 

The Final Four is the most prestigious team tournament in collegiate chess; the winner is known as the national champion of college chess. To get to the Final Four, teams must first compete in the Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship, held each year during the last week of December. Only the top four teams in this event qualify for the Final Four. This year, in addition to Webster, other schools competing in the Final Four include the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, University of Texas-Dallas and University of Illinois. 

In the round robin-format Final Four, each of the four school teams plays in three rounds of competition, playing one full match against each of the other schools. Each team fields a squad of four players, meaning that each team will play a total of 12 games. Game points determine the overall winner. 

Updates from the Final Four will be posted on Webster’s Twitter account at @WebsterU this weekend. A celebration welcoming the team back from the competition will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, April 8 in Marletto’s. It is open to the campus community and will include a special treat from President Stroble. 

Source: http://www.webster.edu

Webster University’s Top Chess Team Is a Six-Man Wrecking Crew

Webster University’s Top Chess Team Is a Six-Man Wrecking Crew
Nobody's Pawns
by Byron Kerman

Imagine Dizzy Dean, Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Ozzie Smith, and Albert Pujols all playing for the Cardinals at the same time. You might not know it, but the Webster University chess team has just that sort of ridiculously powerful roster. Composed of grandmasters from around the world, the team is a murderers’ row of chess minds, and they’ve made it to the President’s Cup, a.k.a. the Final Four of College Chess, to be held this month in Rockville, MD. Coached by former world champion Susan Polgar, this squad is, to be blunt, expected to dominate.

  Wesley So Nickname: Wes Age: 19 Class: Freshman Born: Cavite, Philippines  

Rankings: No. 1 in the Philippines; No. 3 under-21 player in the world Hobbies: Reading, basketball Favorite country he’s visited to play chess: China Strategy: Known for the ability to neutralize opponents regardless of their strengths
On playing for money: “I once won dinner from this guy in New York.”
On his opponents’ expressions: “If I’m playing against an inexpert player, I can sense fear, but it doesn’t happen often.”
On dressing strangely for a tournament: “I had to wear sunglasses because of sunlight coming through the window at my last tournament.”

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Ray Robson Nickname: Ray-C Age: 18 Class: Freshman Born: Guam  

Rankings: No. 8 in the U.S.; No. 10 under-21 player in the world; the youngest in US history to achieve a grandmaster ranking at age 14 Hobbies: Tennis, ping-pong, reading Favorite countries he's visited to play chess: Switzerland and Norway Strategy: Aggressive and tactical
On his strangest moment at a chess tournament: “One time there was a tornado warning, so we stopped playing, and during that time I thought up a good plan and won.”
On foods to avoid: “I don’t drink lemonade at matches because for some reason that makes me have to go to the bathroom more.”

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Fidel Corrales Jiménez Age: 25 Class: Freshman Born: Pinar del Río, Cuba  

Ranking: No. 3 in Cuba Hobbies: Listening to music, playing soccer Favorite country he's visited to play chess: Spain Strategy: “I like to play for the win—I don’t like draws.” On leaving his home country: “I am a defector. I am considered a traitor. I cannot go back to Cuba for seven years, officially. I was very lucky; it’s almost impossible to get a visa from the U.S. government, but I got it because of chess.”
On once beating a chess hustler: “One time I was in Hungary in a train station, and a very old man with a chessboard challenged me to play a game. He didn’t know I was GM [Grandmaster]. He said ‘one Euro per game.’ I said no. He kept asking me, until I said yes. I played two games and beat him twice, but let him keep his money.”
On coach Polgar: “She is very nice, like a mother for us [on the chess team]. She really cares about us. We can tell her anything.”
On superstition: “All chess players are superstitious. Sometimes, I use the same pen to write my moves for all the games, and when I lose with that pen, I switch. Even the way I brush my hair before games is superstitious.”

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Georg Meier Age: 25 Class: Sophomore Born: Trier, Germany  

Ranking: No. 4 in Germany Hobbies: Watching movies, going to the gym, travel, getting to know people from other cultures Favorite city he's visited to play chess: San Francisco
On his favorite outfit: “I have a light blue zip-hoodie, which brought a lot of luck during the European Team Chess Championship in 2011, which Germany won.”
On dirty pool: “A few years ago I was playing a Super Tournament in Germany, and there was one game which I really wanted to win. When I got close and it started to look like it was time for my opponent to resign, he suddenly started to shake the board as well as his whole body. It was extremely annoying and it happened several times during that game. The game lasted for eight hours and ended in a draw. I think I’ve never been so upset in my life as I was after that game.”

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Manuel León Hoyos Nickname: Manu Age: 23 Class: Freshman Born: Merida, Mexico  

Rankings: No. 1 in Mexico; reigning U.S. Open champion Hobby: Soccer Favorite country he's visited to play chess: Italy Strategy: Dynamic attacks
On Webster besting Harvard, Yale, etc., on the way to the Final Four: “This is just my first time playing on a team for Webster, and it’s important for us to beat such prestigious universities.”
On the benefits of chess in everyday life: “As you play chess, you think strategically. You think about the consequences that every position can have. That kind of thinking helps you when you’re not playing chess, too.”

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Anatoly Bykhovsky Nickname: Tolik Age: 24 Class: Junior Born: Ashkelon, Israel

Ranking: No. 21 in Israel Hobbies: Following the financial world, hanging out with friends, sports Favorite country you’ve visited to play chess: Norway Strategy: Flexibility
On his strangest moment at a chess tourney: “In Russia, in the last round of a tournament, some of the players decided to start celebrating before the end—by drinking alcohol.”
On opponents’ weird techniques to distract him: “I played against a guy who colored his hair red before the tournament to mess with his opponents. We finished in a draw. It didn’t work for him then, but over the long term it did—he’s number three in the U.S. right now.”
On coach Polgar: “The most notable thing about her—and there are many—is her personality. She’s always willing to help. It has a huge impact on our play.”

Source: http://www.stlmag.com