Webster, Texas Tech take opening matches

View of the playing hall during round 1 at the New York Athletic Club where the 2014 President's Cup, commonly referred to as the Final Four of College Chess, is being held this weekend.

Webster University swept University of Illinois 4-0 while Texas Tech defeated UMBC 2.5 - 1.5 in round 1 of the 2014 President's Cup. Top seeded Webster, who out-rated their feisty opponents by an average of 400 points, won with apparent ease. But Illinois fought hard and the matches on the top three boards were tense until the endgame. The outcome of the Texas Tech - UMBC encounter was in doubt until the closely contested final game between Grandmasters Yaroslav Zherebukh (Texas Tech) and Niclas Huschenbeth (UMBC) concluded in an exciting win for Zherebukh.

Webster will face UMBC in round 2 this afternoon while Texas Tech takes on Illinois, setting up an expected showdown between Webster and Texas Tech for the championship tomorrow morning. Details concerning round times, tournament location, and online availability of live broadcast of the games is located here.

2014 College Final Four - Round 1
Time Control: G/90 + 30-second increments per move

Bd. 1 WHITE: GM Quang Liem Le (Webster, 2795) vs. BLACK: FM Eric Rosen (Illinois, 2398) 1-0

Bd. 2 WHITE: NM Michael W. Auger (Illinois, 2256) vs. BLACK: GM Wesley SO (Webster, 2760) 0-1

Bd. 3 WHITE: GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez (Webster, 2632) vs. BLACK: Xin Lou (Illinois, 2261) 1-0

Bd. 4 WHITE: Akshay Indusekar (Illinois, 2125) vs. BLACK: GM Anatoly Bykhovsky (Webster, 2581) 0-1

Bd. 5 WHITE: GM Yaroslav Zherebukh (Texas Tech, 2706) vs. BLACK: GM Niclas Huschenbeth (UMBC, 2620) 1-0

Bd. 6 WHITE: GM Askshayraj (UMBC, 2585) vs. BLACK: GM Ethan Moradiabadi (Texas Tech, 2658) 0-1

Bd. 7 WHITE: IM Andrey Gorovets (Texas Tech, 2603) vs. IM Levan Bregadze (UMBC, 2518) 1/2-1/2

Bd. 8 WHITE: IM Nazi Paikidze (UMBC, 2371) vs. NM Luis Carlos Torres (Texas Texh, 2381) 1-0

Le,Q (2795) - Rosen,E (2398) [E21]
New York, NY (1), 05.04.2014
Board 1
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 b6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Qc2 Bb7 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.Qxc3 d6 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bh4 g5 10.Bg3 Ne4 11.Qc2 h5 12.d5 exd5 13.cxd5 Bxd5 14.0-0-0 Bb7 15.e3 Qe7 16.Bb5+ Nd7 17.Ne5 Nxg3 18.Bxd7+ Kf8 19.Bc6 Qxe5 20.Bxb7 Rb8 21.Qxc7 Rxb7 22.Qxb7 Nxh1 23.Rxh1 Qf5 24.Qf3 Qxf3 25.gxf3 Ke7 26.Kd2 Rc8 27.h4 Kf6 28.hxg5+ Kxg5 29.f4+ Kg4 30.f3+ Kxf3 31.Rxh5 Ke4 32.Rh7 Rc7 33.Rh8 Re7 34.Ke2 Kd5 35.Kd3 Kc6 36.e4

36...f5? 37.exf5 Kd5 38.f6 Rf7 39.Rh6 a6 40.a4 b5 41.a5 b4 42.Ke3 Rc7 43.Kf3 Ke6 44.f7+ Kxf7 45.Rh7+ 1-0

Auger,M (2256) - So,W (2760) [C90]
New York, NY (1), 05.04.2014
Board 2]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.d3 h6 10.Nbd2 Na5 11.Bc2 c5 12.Nf1 Nc6 13.a4 Be6 14.Ng3 Rc8 15.axb5 axb5 16.h3 d5 17.exd5 Qxd5 18.Qe2 Nd7 19.Nd2 Nb6 20.Nf3 Nd7 21.Nd2 Bh4 22.Nge4 Nd8 23.Nf3 Be7 24.Ng3 Bd6 25.Ra6 Bb8 26.Qe4 Rc6 27.Ra5 Qxe4 28.dxe4 Rb6 29.Be3 Nb7 30.Raa1 Rc8 31.Red1 Kf8 32.Nh4 b4 33.Ba4 Nf6 34.Nhf5 Bc7 35.cxb4 Rxb4 36.Bc6 Bb8 37.Bxb7 Rxb7 38.Ra5 Nd7 39.Rxd7 Bxd7 40.Bxc5+ Rxc5 41.Rxc5 Rxb2 42.Rd5 Rb7 43.Rd2 Ba7 44.Kh2 f6 45.h4 g6 46.Nd6 Rb4 47.h5 Rd4 48.Rxd4 exd4 49.hxg6 d3 50.Nc4 Bxf2 51.Nh5 Be6 52.g7+ Ke7 53.Nb2 d2 54.Nf4 Bb3 55.g3 Kf7 56.Kg2 Bd4 57.Nfd3 Bc2 58.e5 fxe5 0-1

Corrales Jimenez,F (2632) - Luo,X (2261) [B20]
New York, NY (1), 05.04.2014
[Board 3]
1.e4 c5 2.b3 e6 3.Bb2 d5 4.Nc3 Nc6 5.Bb5 Rb8 6.Nf3 a6 7.exd5 axb5 8.dxc6 bxc6 9.Ne5 Bb7 10.Ne4 Nh6 11.0-0 Be7 12.Nd3 c4 13.bxc4 bxc4 14.Bxg7 Rg8 15.Bxh6 cxd3 16.Bf4 Ra8 17.Rb1 Ba6 18.c3 Qd5 19.Re1 Rg6 20.Rb6 Bc5 21.Rb1 Kf8 22.Qf3 Bb5 23.h4 f5 24.Ng5 Qxf3 25.Nxf3 Ra4 26.h5 Rg8 27.Bh6+ Ke7 28.Bg5+ Kd6 29.Ne5 Kc7 30.Be3 Bd6 31.Bd4 Bxe5 32.Bxe5+ Kd7 33.Rb4 Rg4 34.Rxg4 fxg4 35.Kh2 Bc4 36.Re4 Bb5 37.Re1 Bc4 38.Re4 Bb5 39.Rxa4 Bxa4 40.Kg3 Bd1 41.Kf4 Ke7 42.Ke4 Be2 43.Kd4 Kd7 44.Kc5 g3 45.Bxg3 Bxh5 46.a4 Kc8 47.Kd6 Be2 48.Be5 Bf1 49.g3 Bh3 50.Kxc6 Bg4 51.a5 Bf3+ 52.Kd6 Bd5 53.a6 Bc4 54.f4 Bxa6 55.Kxe6 h5 56.Ke7 1-0

Indusekar,A (2125) - Bykhovsky,A (2581) [E90]
New York, NY (1), 05.04.2014
[Board 4]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 0-0 5.d4 d6 6.h3 Na6 7.Bg5 Qe8 8.Bd3 e5 9.d5 Nh5 10.g4 Nf4 11.Bc2 h6 12.Bh4 f5 13.gxf5 gxf5 14.Bg3 Nc5 15.Nh4 fxe4 16.Nxe4 b6 17.Qd2 Qh5 18.Nxc5 bxc5 19.Bd1 Qg5 20.Bc2 Rb8 21.Be4 Nh5 22.Qxg5 hxg5 23.Ng6 Re8 24.0-0-0 Kf7 25.Rd3 Nf4 26.Rf3 Bf6 27.Nxf4 exf4 28.Re1 Bf5 29.Bxf5 Rxe1+ 30.Kd2 Rh1 0-1

The President's Cup, contested annually since 2002 when this trophy was donated by UT-Dallas President Franklyn Jenifer, is a perpetual award in honor of each year's winner of the Final Four of College Chess.

Zherebukh,Y (2706) - Huschenbeth,N (2620) [A48]
New York, NY (1), 05.04.2014
[Board 5]
1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.h3 d6 5.Nbd2 0-0 6.e4 Nbd7 7.Bc4 c6 8.e5 dxe5 9.dxe5 Nd5 10.Bh2 b5 11.Be2 Bb7 12.0-0 Nc7 13.Nb3 Ne6 14.Na5 Qxa5 15.Qxd7 Qc7 16.Qxc7 Nxc7 17.Nd4 Rfd8 18.Rfd1 e6 19.Nb3 Rac8 20.Nc5 Ba8 21.a4 b4 22.Rd6 Bf8 23.c4 bxc3 24.bxc3 Ne8 25.Rxd8 Rxd8 26.Ne4 Be7 27.Rb1 c5 28.f3 Nc7 29.Bg3 Nd5 30.Bf2 Kg7 31.Bf1 Nb6 32.Nxc5 Rc8 33.Rb5 Bxc5 34.Rxc5 Rxc5 35.Bxc5 Nxa4 36.Bd4 Bc6 37.Ba6 Kf8 38.c4 Nb6 39.Bc5+ Ke8 40.Bd6 Na4 41.Kf2 Kd7 42.Ke3 f6 43.Kd4 fxe5+ 44.Bxe5 Nb6

45.Bb8 Ke7 46.Bxa7 Nd7 47.Bb5 e5+ 48.Ke3 Kd6 49.h4 Bb7 50.g4 Nf6 51.Ba4 Nd7 52.g5 Ba8 53.Bc2 Nf8 54.Be4 Bxe4 55.Kxe4 Nd7 56.c5+ Kc6 57.Bb6 1-0

Kore,A (2585) - Moradiabadi,E (2658) [E20]
New York, NY (1), 05.04.2014
[Board 6]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.g3 0-0 5.Bg2 d5 6.Nf3 dxc4 7.0-0 Nc6 8.e3 Rb8 9.Qe2 b5 10.Rd1 Qe7 11.e4 e5 12.dxe5 Nxe5 13.Nxe5 Qxe5 14.Bf4 Qe7 15.a4 a6 16.axb5 axb5 17.h3 Be6 18.g4 Rfc8 19.Bg5 h6 20.Be3 Nd7 21.f4 f6 22.e5 Bxc3 23.bxc3 fxe5 24.Ba7 Ra8 25.Bxa8 Rxa8 26.fxe5 c6 27.Qe3 Rf8 28.Rd6 Bd5 29.Rxd5 cxd5 30.e6 Ra8 31.exd7 Qxd7 32.Qc5 d4 33.cxd4 c3 34.d5 c2 35.Kh2 Rc8 36.Qg1 0-1

Gorovets,A (2603) - Bregadze,L (2518) [A33]
New York, NY (1), 05.04.2014
[Board 7]
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.d4 c5 4.Nf3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nc6 6.a3 d5 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Bg5 Be7 9.e3 0-0 10.Be2 Be6 11.0-0 Rc8 12.Rc1 h6 13.Bh4 a6 14.Nxc6 Rxc6 15.Bf3 Rc4 16.Bxf6 Bxf6 17.Nxd5 Bxd5 18.Qxd5 Rxc1 19.Rxc1 Bxb2 20.Rb1 Qxd5 21.Bxd5 Rc8 22.Bxb7 Rc1+ 23.Rxc1 Bxc1 24.a4 a5 25.Kf1 Kf8 26.Ke2 Ke7 27.Kf3 Bd2 28.Ke4 Be1 29.f4 g6 30.g4 Bd2 31.Kd3 Bc1 32.h4 f6 33.Be4 g5 34.fxg5 fxg5 35.h5 Kf6 36.Kd4 Bb2+ 37.Kd5 Bc1 38.Kd4 Bb2+ 39.Kc5 Bc1 40.Kb6 Ke5 41.Bf5 Bxe3+ 42.Kxa5 Kd6 43.Ka6 Kc7 44.Kb5 Bf2 45.Bc2 Bg1 46.Bb3 Ba7 47.a5 Bg1 48.a6 Ba7 49.Bd1 Kd6 50.Kc4 Ke5 51.Ba4 Kd6 52.Kd3 Ke5 53.Bb3 Kf4 54.Be6 Ke5 ½-½

Paikidze,N (2371) - Torres,L (2381) [D87]
New York, NY (1), 05.04.2014
[Board 8]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 0-0 9.0-0 Nc6 10.Be3 Bg4 11.f3 Bd7 12.Qd2 Qc7 13.Rac1 Rad8 14.Bh6 Bc8 15.Rfd1 Na5 16.Bd3 e5 17.Bg5 f6 18.Bh4 Be6 19.d5 c4 20.Bc2 b6 21.Rb1 Nb7 22.Bf2 Bd7 23.a4 Rf7 24.Nc1 Bf8 25.Na2 Bc5 26.Nb4 Nd6 27.a5 bxa5 28.Na6 Bxf2+ 29.Qxf2 Qc8 30.Rb8 Qxa6 31.Rxd8+ Kg7 32.Rb1 Nb5 33.Qc5 Nxc3 34.Rbb8 Ne2+ 35.Kf2 Nd4 36.Rxd7 1-0

Standings after round 1 of 3

Webster University 1-0 (4 game points)
Texas Tech 1-0 (2.5 game points)
UMBC 0-1 (1.5 game points)
Illinois 0-1 (0 game points)


Remaining Matches:

Round 2 (Saturday 5 pm NY time)

(3) University of Maryland Baltimore County - (1) Webster University
(4) University of Illinois - (2) Texas Tech

Round 3 (Sunday 9 am NY time)

(4) University of Illinois - (3) University of Maryland Baltimore County
(2) Texas Tech - (1) Webster University

Sponsored by: Booz Allen Hamilton
Chief Arbiter: Michael Hoffpauir
Live commentary to spectators, and online at chess.com: Max Dlugy and Irina Krush

Second round pairings:

Bd. 1 Huschenbeth (UMBC) vs. Le (Webster)
Bd. 2 So (Webster vs. Kore (UMBC)
Bd. 3 Bregadze (UMBC) vs. Meier (Webster)
Bd. 4 Robson (Webster) vs. WGM Sabina Folser (UMBC, 2311)
Bd. 5 Rosen (Illinois( vs. Zherebukh (Texas Tech)
Bd. 6 Moradiabadi (Texas Tech) vs. Luo (UMBC)
Bd. 7 Auger (UMBC) vs. Gorovets (Texas Tech)
Bd. 8 Faik Aleskerov (2385, Texas Tech) vs. Indusekar (UMBC)