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.
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