Virginia Upsets Top-Seeded Missouri, Saint Louis Defeats Athens
The underdogs roared as the 2024 Collegiate Chess League Fall (CCL) began on Saturday. The bottom boards led Saint Louis to victory over Athens. In an even bigger twist, Virginia defeated the top-seeded Missouri team.
Boards three and four, GM Dambasuren Batsuren and NM Shelev Oberoi, were the top scorers for SLU, each achieving 3/4. Virginia's board one, FM Jason Morefield, swept the Missouri team 4-0.
The CCL continues with week two on Saturday, October 5, 2024 at 2 p.m. ET/20:00 CET/0:30 a.m. IST.
Collegiate Chess League - Week 1 Standings
The CCL has returned for its ninth season. Teams compiled of the strongest college players worldwide compete to prove that their university belongs at the top.
Division I features the eight top teams by rating. All other divisions include 16 teams each, and teams will compete in a seven-week round-robin of all-play-all matches. The top-six teams will progress to the playoffs and compete for their share of the $25,000 prize fund.
Bottom Boards Rise: Athens 6-10 Saint Louis
Though Saint Louis is the reigning champion, SLU is fielding a very different team this season as their previous top two boards, GMs Nikolas Theodorou and Benjamin Bok, have graduated. How would the new team fare with such large footsteps to follow?
Athens is making their second appearance in the CCL after qualifying for the playoffs in their debut season in the spring.
In round one, Saint Louis took a one-point lead, supported by their board four, Oberoi, who defeated the opposing board one in his first-ever CCL game.
In the next round, Saint Louis stretched their lead to two points. Oberoi struck again, this time beating Konstantinos Tsarsitalidis with a compelling combination. Can you find it in the puzzle below?
Black to move.
FM Vasilios Kasioumis limited Athens's deficit with a win vs. SLU's board one, GM Robby Kevlishvili. The Greek FIDE master found a brilliant tactical transition from an attacking position to a queen ending with an advanced passer. This is our Game of the Day with analysis by GM Rafael Leitao.
The teams split the score 2-2 in round three. Kevlishvili chased his opponent’s king across the board, creating a passer in the process and winning in the ending.
Oberoi, Batsuren, and GM Nikolozi Kacharava all won in the last round to clinch the match for Saint Louis. Oberoi displayed his rook endgame technique to defeat FM Grigorios Drakoulakos.
While it's no surprise to see the defending champions gain their first win of the season, unexpectedly the majority of points were scored by boards three and four for both teams.
Underdogs Triumph vs. Top Seed: Virginia 9-7 Missouri
As the top seed of Division I, Missouri was undeniably the favorite. They fielded two of their top players from last season, GMs Mikhail Antipov and Harshit Raja, along with two international masters.
In sharp contrast, Virginia is the eighth seed, led by a FIDE master with support from a trio of national masters.
Virginia held their own in round one with a 2-2 split. Their board three, NM Alex Shrauger scored an upset vs. Missouri's seasoned board two, Harshit.
In round two, the tie continued. NM Owen McCoy found a knight maneuver to jumpstart his king hunt vs. IM Marta Garcia.
Returning from halftime, the underdogs seized the lead. Virginia scored three wins in round three. Morefield survived Harshit’s extended sacrifice-fueled king attack.
Entering the last round, the top seeds found themselves in a must-win position, needing to score three points out of four games. Leading Missouri with a 3-0 score so far, Antipov shockingly blundered against his fellow board one, Morefield.
This brought Virginia within a half point of victory—could the rest of the team take it home?
IM Isik Can fought back for Mizzou, unleashing a queen-sacrifice mating attack vs. Shrauger.
In the end, McCoy and Lu both drew, securing a sensational upset victory for Viriginia with a 9-7 final score.
WHAT AN UPSET VIRGINIA HELD IT https://t.co/RVhvhtw1ze
— Collegiate Chess League (@CollegiateChess) September 28, 2024
You can watch the 2024 Collegiate Chess League Fall presented by Susquehanna on Chess.com/TV. You can also enjoy the show on our Twitch channel and catch all our live broadcasts on YouTube.com/ChesscomLive. Games from the event can be viewed on our events page.
The live broadcast was hosted by GM Benjamin Bok and JulesGambit.
The Collegiate Chess League is the premier online chess competition for college students. The 2024 CCL Fall Season is a team event starting September 28 at 2 p.m. ET/20:00 CET/0:30 a.m. IST and featuring a $25,000 prize fund.
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Vanessa West is a National Master, a chess teacher, and a writer for Chess.com. In 2017, they won the Chess Journalist of the Year award.
You can follow them on X: Vanessa__West
