Webster University Wins 2014 College Chess Title

Members of the Webster University chess team are crowned 2014 collegiate champions during the awards ceremony at New York Athletic Club.

The Webster University chess team defeated a tough team from Texas Tech University, 3 games to 1, in the third and final round of the 2014 President's Cup, commonly referred to as the Final Four of College Chess. This is the second consecutive win for Webster. Texas Tech was the champion in 2011 and 2012.

GM Anatoly Bykhovsky earned the distinction of being the only player to play on four consecutive collegiate championship teams. He played for Texas Tech in his freshman and sophomore years and moved to Webster with the SPICE Program preceding his junior year. Remarkably, GM Bykhovsky did not lose a single game in four years of President's Cup play.

This year's runner-up team from University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) has won the championship six times in the 14 years of the event. That is the most championships for any university, followed by four victories for University of Texas at Dallas, and two each by Texas Tech and Webster University. Webster head coach Susan Polgar has been the coach of the last four championship teams. She relocated from Texas Tech to Webster in June 2012. UMBC took second place in this year's competition by sweeping Illinois 4-0 in the final round. Texas Tech finished third and Illinois placed fourth.

This is the fourth year that the President's Cup was sponsored by Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc. and the first year that it was hosted by the New York Athletic Club. Mike Hauffpauir was the tournament director for the fourth time.

Final Standings:

Webster University - 9.5 points
University of Maryland Baltimore County - 7 points
Texas Tech University - 6.5 points
University of Illinois - 1 point

Games from Round 3

Zherebukh,Y (2706) - Le,Q (2795) [D17]
New York, NY (3), 06.04.2014
[Board 1]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Ne5 e6 7.f3 Bb4 8.e4 Bxe4 9.fxe4 Nxe4 10.Bd2 Qxd4 11.Nxe4 Qxe4+ 12.Qe2 Bxd2+ 13.Kxd2 Qd5+ 14.Kc3 0-0 15.Qe3 b5 16.Be2 Nd7 17.Nxd7 Qxd7 18.Qc5 Qd8 19.Rhd1 Qf6+ 20.Rd4 Rad8 21.Rf1 Qh6 22.Rdf4 Qxh2 23.Qxc6 Qg3+ 24.Qf3 Qg5 25.axb5 Qxb5 26.Bxc4 Qa5+ 27.Kb3 Rd7 28.Qc3 Rb8+ 29.Kc2 Qg5 30.R1f2 Qg6+ 31.Kc1 Rbd8 32.b3 Qg5 33.Kb2 g6 34.g4 a5 35.Ka3 Qc5+ 36.Kb2 Qg5 37.Ka3 Qc5+ 38.Ka2 Qg5 39.Kb2 Rb7 40.Qf3 Rdd7 41.Qc3 Qc5 42.Ba6 Rbc7 43.Qxc5 Rxc5 44.Bc4 Kg7 45.Ka3 h5 46.gxh5 Rxh5 47.Ka4 Re5 48.Bb5 Rb7 49.Be8 f5 50.Rg2 Re1 51.Ka3 Kf8 52.Bxg6 Ra1+ 53.Kb2 Rh1 54.Rc4 Rh3 55.Rc8+ Ke7 56.Rc3 Rh8 57.Bxf5 Rb6 58.Bc2 a4 59.Rg7+ Kf6 60.Rg6+ Ke7 61.Rg7+ Kf6 62.Rg6+ Ke7 63.Rc7+ Kd6 64.Ra7 axb3 65.Bxb3 Rh2+ 66.Ka3 Re2 67.Rg3 Ke5 68.Ra4 Re4 69.Ra5+ Kf6 70.Rh3 Ke7 71.Ra8 Kd6 72.Ra7 Re2 73.Rc3 Re1 74.Rd3+ Ke5 75.Re7 Re2 76.Re8 Re1 77.Rh3 Re4 78.Rd3 Re1 79.Kb2 Re4 80.Kc3 Rc6+ 81.Kb2 Re2+ 82.Ka3 Rb6 83.Ka4 Rd6 84.Rh3 Kd4 85.Rh4+ Re4 86.Rxe4+ Kxe4 87.Bxe6 Rb6 88.Bc4+ Kd4 89.Bb5 Rh6 90.Kb4 Rh1 91.Rd8+ Ke3 92.Bc4 Ra1 93.Kc5 Ra5+ 94.Bb5 Kf4 95.Re8 Kf5 96.Kb4 Ra1 97.Kc3 Rd1 98.Bd3+ Kf6 99.Kd4 Kf7 100.Re3 Ra1 101.Bc4+ Kf6 102.Rf3+ Ke7 103.Rf7+ Kd6 104.Rf6+ Ke7 105.Rh6 Rd1+ 106.Bd3 Kd7 107.Ke3 Kc7 108.Be4 Rd6 109.Rh5 Rd1 110.Kf4 Kd6 111.Rh6+ Ke7 112.Ke5 Re1 113.Rh7+ Ke8 114.Rb7 Re2 115.Rb3 Ke7 116.Rb4 Re1 117.Ra4 Re2 118.Ra7+ Ke8 119.Kf4 Kd8 120.Bf5 Re7 121.Ra8+ Kc7 122.Kg5 Kd6 123.Kf6 Re1 124.Rd8+ Kc5 ½-½

So,W (2760) - Moradiabadi,E (2658) [E11]
New York, NY (3), 06.04.2014
[Board 2]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Nbd2 d5 5.Qa4+ Nc6 6.a3 Bd6 7.c5 Be7 8.b4 0-0 9.e3 a6 10.Bd3 Nd7 11.Bb2 f5 12.Qc2 Bf6 13.h4 h6 14.0-0-0 Rb8 15.Rdg1 b6 16.g4 fxg4 17.Ng5 hxg5 18.Bh7+ Kh8 19.Rxg4 gxh4 20.Nf3 g5 21.Nxg5 Bxg5 22.f4 Nf6 23.Rxg5 Nxh7 24.Qxh7+ 1-0

Gorovets,A (2603) - Meier,G (2701) [E20]
New York, NY (3), 06.04.2014
[Board 3]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 c5 5.g3 Nc6 6.dxc5 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 Qa5 8.Nd2 Qxc3 9.Rb1 Ne4 10.Rb3 Qa5 11.Rb5 Qc3 12.Bb2 Qxd2+ 13.Qxd2 Nxd2 14.Kxd2 f6 15.Bg2 Kd8 16.Rb1 Ke7 17.Kc3 Rd8 18.Bc1 Kf7 19.Bf4 Re8 20.Bd6 b6 21.cxb6 axb6 22.a3 Ba6 23.Rxb6 Rec8 24.Bxc6 dxc6 25.Bc5 h5 26.Rd1 Rc7 27.a4 e5 28.a5 Bb7 29.Kb4 Kg6 30.Rd6 Kf5 31.f3 e4 32.Rd4 exf3 33.exf3 g5 34.h3 Kg6 35.g4 hxg4 36.hxg4 Kg7 37.Rd6 Rf7 38.Bd4 Ra7 39.c5 Kg6 40.Bc3 Kg7 41.Ka3 Kg6 42.Kb3 Kg7 43.Kc2 Kg6 44.Kd2 Ra8 45.Ke3 Re8+ 46.Kf2 Ra8 47.Rb2 Re8 48.Rb6 Ra8 49.Rb1 Re8 50.Re1 Ref8 51.Kg3 Rh8 52.Ree6 Rhf8 53.f4 gxf4+ 54.Kxf4 Bc8 55.Re3 Rh7 56.Rxc6 Rh1 57.Kg3 Rg1+ 58.Kf2 Rc1 59.Rf3 Bxg4 60.Rfxf6+ Rxf6+ 61.Bxf6 Kf5 62.Bd8 Ke4 63.Bb6 Bd7 64.Rd6 Bb5 65.Kg3 Rc3+ 66.Kg4 Rd3 67.Re6+ Kd5 68.Rh6 Rc3 69.Kf4 Rc4+ 70.Kf5 Bd7+ 71.Kg5 Bb5 72.Rd6+ Ke5 73.Rd2 Ra4 74.Bc7+ Ke6 75.Rd6+ Ke7 76.Bd8+ Ke8 77.Bb6 Ke7 78.Kf5 Ra2 79.Re6+ Kd7 80.Rd6+ Ke7 81.Kf4 Rf2+ 82.Kg3 Rc2 83.Kf3 Rc3+ 84.Ke4 Rc2 85.Rh6 Kd7 86.Kd4 Rc1 87.Rh7+ Ke6 88.Rh8 Rc4+ 89.Ke3 Rc2 90.Rh6+ Ke5 91.a6 Bxa6 92.Bc7+ Kd5 93.Rxa6 Rc3+ 94.Kf4 Rc4+ 95.Kf5 Rxc5 96.Be5 Rc6 97.Ra1 Rc4 98.Rd1+ Kc6 99.Ke6 Kc5 100.Bd6+ Kc6 101.Ra1 Re4+ 102.Be5 Rc4 103.Ra8 Kb7 104.Rb8+ Kc6 105.Rd8 Kc5 106.Bd6+ Kc6 107.Ke5 Kb5 108.Kd5 Rc6 109.Rh8 Rb6 110.Rh3 Rb7 111.Ra3 Kb6 112.Bc5+ Kb5 113.Rb3+ Ka6 114.Ra3+ Kb5 115.Bd6 Kb6 116.Ra8 Kb5 117.Ra1 Kb6 118.Ra8 Kb5 119.Rd8 Rb6 120.Rd7 Ka4 121.Bc5 Rb8 122.Bd6 Rb5+ 123.Kd4 Rb1 124.Ra7+ Kb3 125.Ra3+ Kc2 126.Rh3 Rd1+ 127.Kc5 Rd3 128.Rh2+ Rd2 129.Rh6 Kd3 130.Rh3+ Ke4 131.Rh4+ Kf5 132.Rf4+ Ke6 133.Re4+ Kf5 134.Re5+ Kf6 135.Kc6 Rf2 136.Kd7 Rf5 137.Re8 Kg5 138.Ke6 Kg4 139.Rg8+ Rg5 140.Rf8 Rg6+ 141.Ke5 Kg3 142.Bb8 Kg2 143.Ke4 Re6+ 144.Be5 Rg6 ½-½

Robson,R (2714) - Torres,L (2381) [B90]
New York, NY (3), 06.04.2014
[Board 4]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 Be7 9.Qd2 0-0 10.0-0-0 Nbd7 11.g4 b5 12.g5 b4 13.gxf6 bxc3 14.Qxc3 Nxf6 15.Na5 Rc8 16.Nc6 Qe8 17.Nxe7+ Qxe7 18.Qa5 Rc6 19.Kb1 Rfc8 20.b3 Qb7 21.Rg1 Ne8 22.Rd2 f5 23.Bh3 Qf7 24.exf5 Bxf5 25.Bxf5 Qxf5 26.Qd5+ Kh8 27.Rg5 Qf8 28.f4 Rc3 29.Qf3 Nc7 30.Qf2 Ne6 31.Rg4 Qf5 32.Rg2 exf4 33.Bd4 R3c7 34.Bb2 d5 35.h4 h6 36.Qb6 Rc6 37.Qa7 R8c7 38.Qf2 Kh7 39.Qf3 Qe4 40.Qd1 d4 41.Rge2 Qf5 42.Rf2 Rd7 43.Bxd4 Rcd6 44.Bc3 Rxd2 45.Rxd2 Rxd2 46.Qxd2 f3 47.Qf2 Nc5 48.Qg3 Ne6 49.Qf2 Kg6 50.Kc1 Kh7 51.b4 Qe4 52.Kd2 Nf4 53.Qd4 Qe2+ 54.Kc1 Ne6 55.Qd2 Qe4 56.a4 Kg6 57.b5 axb5 58.axb5 Kh5 59.b6 g5 60.hxg5 hxg5 61.Qe1 Qf4+ 62.Bd2 f2 63.Qe2+ Qg4 64.Qxf2 Nd8 65.Qh2+ Qh4 66.Qe2+ Qg4 67.Qe8+ 1-0

Members of the 2014 Championship team from Webster University speak with their Provost while waiting for the last two games of round 3 to finish. Pictured, left to right, are Head Coach Susan Polgar, Ray Robson, Anatoly Bykhovsky, Wesley So, Fidel Corrales and Webster University Provost Julian Schuster. (photo courtesy of Susan Polgar Daily News and Information)

Rosen,E (2398) - Huschenbeth,N (2620) [A28]
New York, NY (3), 06.04.2014
[Board 5]
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.a3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Qc2 Be7 7.e3 0-0 8.Nxd5 Qxd5 9.Bd3 Kh8 10.b4 f5 11.Bc4 Qd6 12.h4 Be6 13.Bb2 Bxc4 14.Qxc4 e4 15.Ng5 Bf6 16.Bxf6 Qxf6 17.Rd1 Rae8 18.g3 Ne5 19.Qb3 c5 20.bxc5 Qa6 21.d4 exd3 22.f4 Ng4 23.Rxd3 h6 24.Nf7+ Rxf7 25.Qxf7 Qxd3 26.Qxe8+ Kh7 27.h5 Qb1+ 28.Kd2 Qb2+ 29.Kd3 Nf2+ 30.Kc4 Qc2+ 31.Kb5 Qb3+ 32.Ka5 Qxa3+ 33.Kb5 Qa6+ 34.Kb4 Nxh1 35.g4 Qc6 36.Qf7 Qe4+ 37.Ka5 fxg4 38.f5 Qc6 39.e4 Qxc5+ 40.Ka4 b5+ 41.Ka5 Qb6+ 42.Kb4 a5+ 43.Ka3 Qc5+ 44.Kb2 Qd4+ 0-1

Kore, (2585) - Luo,X (2261) [B30]
New York, NY (3), 06.04.2014
[Board 6]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.Bxc6 bxc6 5.0-0 Ne7 6.d3 Ng6 7.Ng5 e5 8.Qh5 Be7 9.Nc3 d6 10.Ne2 Bxg5 11.Bxg5 f6 12.Be3 0-0 13.f4 exf4 14.Nxf4 Ne5 15.Qe2 g5 16.Nh3 Bg4 17.Qd2 Rb8 18.b3 Bxh3 19.gxh3 Qe8 20.Qg2 Rb7 21.Rf5 Rg7 22.Qg3 h5 23.Kf1 Qe7 24.Ke2 d5 25.Raf1 dxe4 26.dxe4 c4 27.Bd4 Nd7 28.Qe3 cxb3 29.axb3 Rg6 30.Ra1 c5 31.Bc3 Qd6 32.Qg3 Qc6 33.Qd3 Re8 34.Rxa7 Rxe4+ 35.Kd2 Rg7 36.Ra6 Qb7 37.Kc1 c4 38.bxc4 Rf4 39.Re6 Nf8 40.Rexf6 Qh1+ 41.Kb2 Rb7+ 42.Rb5 Rxf6 43.Bxf6 Nh7 44.Qg6+ Kf8 45.Be7+ 1-0

Auger,M (2256) - Bregadze,L (2518) [B06]
New York, NY (3), 06.04.2014
[Board 7]
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nf3 d6 4.Be3 Nf6 5.Nc3 0-0 6.Qd2 Bg4 7.Be2 Nc6 8.h3 Bxf3 9.Bxf3 e5 10.d5 Nd4 11.Bxd4 exd4 12.Ne2 Re8 13.Qxd4 Nxe4 14.Qb4 Ng5 15.Kf1 Nxf3 16.gxf3 Qf6 17.Qb3 a5 18.a4 Ra6 19.Qb5 Qe7 20.Ng3 Rb6 21.Qxa5 Bxb2 22.Rd1 Qh4 23.Qd2 Qxa4 24.h4 Rb4 25.Ne4 Rd4 26.Nf6+ Kh8 27.Qxd4 Bxd4 28.Nxe8 Be5 29.Re1 Qxe8 0-1

Paikidze,N (2371) - Indusekar,A (2125) [D45]
New York, NY (3), 06.04.2014
[Board 8]
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.e3 e6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bd3 c5 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.0-0 Bb7 11.a3 Nbd7 12.Qe2 0-0 13.e4 Qc7 14.g3 Ne5 15.Bf4 Nfd7 16.Rac1 Nxf3+ 17.Qxf3 Ne5 18.Qe2 f6 19.b4 Bb6 20.Na4 Qd8 21.Bxe5 bxa4 22.Bf4 Kh8 23.Be3 e5 24.Rfd1 Bd4 25.Rc4 Rc8 26.Bc2 Rxc4 27.Qxc4 Qc8 28.Qxc8 Rxc8 29.Bxa4 Bxe3 30.fxe3 Bxe4 31.Bd7 Rd8 32.Rc1 Kg8 33.Rc7 f5 34.Kf2 g5 35.Ra7 Kf8 36.a4 Rb8 37.Rxa6 Rxb4 38.Bxf5 Bxf5 39.Rf6+ Kg7 40.Rxf5 Rxa4 41.Rxg5+ Kf6 42.Rh5 Ra7 43.Kf3 Rb7 44.h4 Ra7 45.Rh6+ Kg7 46.Re6 Ra5 47.Ke4 Ra4+ 48.Kf5 h5 49.Rg6+ Kh7 50.Rg5 Kh6 51.Kxe5 Ra5+ 52.Kf4 Ra2 53.Rd5 Ra3 54.Rd6+ Kg7 1-0

additional stories/links:
The Christian Science Monitor, April 7, 2014
The Washington Post, April 7, 2014
Additional photos here

Round 3 showdown set for this morning

Media center at the 2014 Final Four of College chess. Pictured during round 2 are (standing, l.to r.) Al Lawrence, GM Anatoly Bykhovsky; (seated, l. to r.) professional game designer Mark Herman, NYAC chess club president Alec Diacou, GM commentators Irina Krush & Max Dlugy, Frank Niro (photo courtesy of Paul Micou)

Defending champion Webster University left the door open for the team from Texas Tech University (national champions in 2012 and 2012) with a narrow 2.5-1.5 match victory over University of Maryland - Baltimore County in Round 2 of the 2014 President's Cup. Texas Tech defeated Illinois 3-1 to remain a point behind going into their head-to-head match-up with Webster in this morning's final round.

Second round results:

Bd. 1 Huschenbeth (UMBC) vs. Le (Webster) 0-1
Bd. 2 So (Webster vs. Kore (UMBC) 0-1
Bd. 3 Bregadze (UMBC) vs. Meier (Webster) 1/2-1/2
Bd. 4 Robson (Webster) vs. Folser (UMBC) 1-0
Bd. 5 Rosen (Illinois( vs. Zherebukh (Texas Tech) 1/2-1/2
Bd. 6 Moradiabadi (Texas Tech) vs. Luo (UMBC) 1-0
Bd. 7 Auger (UMBC) vs. Gorovets (Texas Tech) 0-1
Bd. 8 Faik (Texas Tech) vs. Indusekar (UMBC) 1/2-1/2

Games

Huschenbeth,N (2620) - Le,Q (2795) [B48]
New York, NY (2), 05.04.2014
[Board 1]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 a6 7.Bd3 Nf6 8.0-0 b5 9.Nxc6 Qxc6 10.Be2 Bd6 11.Bf3 Be5 12.Bd4 d6 13.a3 Bb7 14.Qd3 0-0 15.Rad1 Qc7 16.Qe3 Bc6 17.Bb6 Qb7 18.Ba5 Rac8 19.Rfe1 Rfe8 20.g3 h6 21.Bg2 Ng4 22.Qe2 f5 23.Qf1 f4 24.h3 Nf6 25.g4 Nd7 26.Qd3 Qa7 27.Bb4 Nc5 28.Bxc5 dxc5 29.Ne2 c4 30.Qf3 Bxb2 31.Qxf4 Bxa3 32.e5 Rf8 33.Qg3 Bc5 34.Rf1 Qb7 35.Bxc6 Qxc6 36.Nf4 Rf7 37.g5 hxg5 38.Qxg5 Qf3 39.Nh5 Be7 40.Qg4 Qf5 41.f4 Rcf8 42.Kg2 Qxc2+ 43.Rf2 Qf5 44.Qe2 Bh4 45.Rff1 c3 46.Kh2 Kh8 47.Rg1 g6 0-1

So,W (2760) - Kore,A (2585) [D94]
New York, NY (2), 05.04.2014
[Board 2]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.e3 0-0 6.Bd2 Be6 7.Qb3 dxc4 8.Qxb7 Nbd7 9.Ng5 Bf5 10.e4 e5 11.exf5 exd4 12.fxg6 dxc3 13.gxf7+ Rxf7 14.bxc3 Rb8 15.Qc6 Qe7+ 16.Be2 Ne5 17.Qe6

17...h6 18.Qxe7 Rxe7 19.0-0-0 hxg5 20.Bxg5 Re6 21.Rd4 Nd3+ 22.Bxd3 cxd3 23.Rxd3 Reb6 0-1

Bregadze,L (2518) - Meier,G (2701) [E08]
New York, NY (2), 05.04.2014
[Board 3]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 c6 7.Qc2 0-0 8.0-0 Nbd7 9.Bf4 a5 10.Rd1 Nh5 11.Bd2 Nhf6 12.Bf4 b5 13.Ne5 Bb7 14.b3 Nxe5 15.dxe5 Nd7 16.cxd5 cxd5 17.e4 dxe4 18.Nd2 Rc8 19.Qb1 Qc7 20.Nxe4 Nxe5 21.Qb2 Bxe4 22.Bxe4 f6 ½-½

Robson,R (2714) - Folsor,S (2311) [C70]
New York, NY (2), 05.04.2014
[Board 4]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nge7 5.0-0 g6 6.c3 Bg7 7.d4 exd4 8.cxd4 b5 9.Bc2 d5 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Re1+ Be6 12.Bg5 Qd7 13.Nbd2 0-0 14.Nb3 Bg4 15.h3 Bxf3 16.Qxf3 Ndb4 17.Be4 f5 18.Bxc6 Qxc6 19.Qg3 Nd5 20.Rac1 Qb6 21.Rc5 f4 22.Qf3 Nf6 23.Rc6 Qb8 24.Re7 Ne8 25.Nc5 Rf5 26.Ne6 Rxg5 27.Nxg5 Nf6 28.Rxf6 1-0

Grandmaster Irina Krush, reigning U.S. Women's Champion and President's Cup commentator, explores the Central Park area during her break between rounds 1 and 2 (photo courtesy of GM Max Dlugy)

Rosen,E (2398) - Zherebukh,Y (2706) [A16]
New York, NY (2), 05.04.2014
[Board 5]
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.cxd5 Nxd5 4.Nf3 g6 5.Qa4+ Nc6 6.Ne5 Qd6 7.Nxc6 Qxc6 8.Qxc6+ bxc6 9.g3 Bg7 10.Bg2 Be6 11.b3 0-0-0 12.Bb2 Nxc3 13.Bxc3 Bxc3 14.dxc3 Rd6 15.Rd1 Rhd8 16.Rxd6 Rxd6 17.Be4 c5 18.Bc2 Bf5 19.e4 Bg4 20.f4 Bf3 21.0-0 Be2 22.Rf2 Rd2 23.Bb1 c4 24.Kg2 Rb2 25.bxc4 Rxb1 26.Rxe2 Rc1 27.e5 Rxc3 28.Kh3 Rxc4 29.Kg4 h6 30.h4 Rc3 31.Rg2 Kd7 32.h5 Ra3 33.Rh2 gxh5+ 34.Rxh5 Rxa2 35.Rxh6 c5 36.Kf5 Ra4 37.e6+ fxe6+ 38.Rxe6 c4 39.Re3 Rb4

40.Ra3 Rb7 41.Rc3 Rc7 42.Ke5 a5 43.Kd4 a4 44.Ra3 Ke6 45.g4 c3 46.Rxc3 Ra7 47.Ra3 Ra8 48.Kc5 Kf6 49.Kb5 e5 50.fxe5+ Kxe5 51.Rxa4 Rxa4 52.Kxa4 Kf6 53.g5+ Kxg5 ½-½

Moradiabadi,E (2658) - Luo,X (2261) [D32]
New York, NY (2), 05.04.2014
[Board 6]
1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.e3 e6 5.d4 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Bb5 cxd4 8.exd4 a6 9.Bxc6+ bxc6 10.Ne5 Qc7 11.0-0 Bd6 12.Bf4 0-0 13.Rc1 Qb7 14.Na4 Qb5 15.Bg3 Bb7 16.Nd3 Be7 17.Bc7 Rac8 18.Nc3 Qc4 19.Bb6 a5 20.b3 Qa6 21.Bc5 Rce8 22.Re1 Bxc5 23.Nxc5 Qa7 24.Qd2 Bc8 25.f3 h6 26.Rxe8 Rxe8 27.Re1 Re7 28.Re3 Kf8 29.Kf2 Rxe3 30.Qxe3 Nd7 31.N3a4 Qc7 32.Nxd7+ Bxd7 33.Nc5 Bf5 34.g3 Bc8 35.Ke1 Qe7 36.Qxe7+ Kxe7 37.Kd2 h5 38.a3 g5 39.a4 Kd6 40.Kc3 Kc7 41.b4 axb4+ 42.Kxb4 Bf5 43.a5 Bc2 44.f4 gxf4 45.gxf4 h4 46.Na4 Kb7 47.Nb6 Kc7 48.Kc5 Bd3 49.Na4 Be2 50.Nc3 Bd3 51.Na2 Bb5 52.Nb4 Kb7 53.Nxd5 Ka6 54.Nc7+ Kxa5 55.Nxb5 1-0

Auger,M (2256) - Gorovets,A (2603) [B22]
New York, NY (2), 05.04.2014
[Board 7]
1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.cxd4 d6 7.Bc4 Nb6 8.Bb5 dxe5 9.Nxe5 Bd7 10.Bxc6 Bxc6 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.0-0 e6 13.Be3 Be7 14.Nc3 0-0 15.Qe2 Nd5 16.Ne4 Qd7 17.Rfe1 Rab8 18.b3 f5 19.Nc5 Bxc5 20.dxc5 e5 21.Bc1 e4 22.Bb2 Rbe8 23.Qc4 Qe6 24.Rad1 f4 25.Rd4 e3 26.fxe3 fxe3 27.Rg4 Rf7 28.Qd4 Ree7 29.Rg5 e2 30.h4 Rf1+ 31.Kh2 Rxe1 32.Rxg7+ Kf8 33.Qf2+ Rf7 34.Rxf7+ Qxf7 35.Qxe1 Qf1 0-1

Aleskerov,F (2385) - Indusekar, A (2125)
New York, NY (2), 05.04.2014
[Board 8]
draw. both players' score sheets were illegible

Standings

Webster University: 6.5 game points (2 match points)
Texas Tech University: 5.5 game points (2 match points)
University of Maryland - Balt. Cty: 3 game points (0 match pts.)
University of Illinois: 1 game points (0 match points)

Texas Tech needs to defeat Webster by at least 2.5 to 1.5 in round 3 to reclaim the title in 2014. A tie match will give the title to Webster because of higher games points.

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)

2014 President's Cup (Final 4 of College Chess) set for this weekend

Quote of the Day: Be honest with me, but don't be mean to me. Don't misrepresent my views for your own political ends, and I'll treat you the same way. - Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia.

March Madness concludes this weekend in the sport of college basketball. But did you know that the Final 4 of College Chess will be contested this weekend as well? Teams from Texas Tech, University of Illinois, University of Maryland - Baltimore County (UMBC) and Webster University will face off across the chess board at New York City Athletic Club’s Olympic Suites. Spectators are welcome, but please note that there is a strict dress code at NYAC which will be enforced throughout the event.

The four teams qualified at the Pan American Intercollegiate Championship held this past December in Lubbock, TX. My previous coverage of the PanAms can be found here:
Top teams face off in rd. 4 of PanAm Intercollegiate
Webster takes big match with Texas Tech; UT-Dallas also at 4-0
PanAm update: Five teams fighting for 3 remaining spots...
Webster sweeps; UMBC, Illinois and Texas Tech advance

Further details are provided below:

Schedule

Saturday, April 5 –
-9:45 am: The tournament begins with an opening ceremony

-10 am – 3 pm: First round of play
Boards 1 thru 4: Webster (1) vs. Illinois (4)
Boards 5 thru 8: Texas Tech (2) vs. UMBC (3)

-5 pm – 10 pm: Second round of play
Boards 1 thru 4: Webster (1) vs. UMBC (3)
Boards 5 thru 8: Texas Tech (2) vs. Illinois (4)

Sunday, April 6—
-9 am – 2 pm: Third (final) round of play
Boards 1 thru 4: Webster (1) vs. Texas Tech (2)
Boards 5 thru 8: UMBC (3) vs. Illinois (4)

-2 pm: Tie-Break/Shootout match (if necessary)

-2:30 pm (approximately): Awards/closing ceremony and presentation of the President’s Cup

Please note: Matches consist of four boards per team and each team can carry up to two alternates. All four teams will compete against each of the other teams in a head to head match. Irina Krush and Max Dlugy will provide commentary and the games should be available on monroi.com and live commentary by Max Dlugy and Irina Krush is available on chess.com (by following GM Max Dlugy). I will add information concerning the official web site and access to live commentary and game scores as soon as it becomes available.

Team Rosters (in alphabetical order):

Texas Tech

Yaroslav Zherebukh
Elshan Moradiabadi
Andrey Gorovets
Luis Carlos Torres
Faik Aleskerov
Head Coach: GM Alex Onishchuk

University of Illinois

Eric Rosen
Xin Luo
Michael Auger
Akshay Indusekar
Head Coach: GM Yury Shulman

University of Maryland - Baltimore County

Niclas Huschenbeth
Akshayraj Kore
Levan Bregadze
Nazi Paikidze
Sabina Foisor
Head Coach: GM Sam Palatnik

Webster University

Ray Robson
Georg Meier
Wesley So
Le Quang Liem
Fidel Corrales Jimenez
Anatoly Bykhovksy
Head Coach: GM Susan Polgar

Note: The seedings, based on rating order are 1.Webster 2.Texas Tech, 3.UMBC and 4.Illinois and in order of qualifying, 1.Webster, 2.UMBC, 3.Illinois and 4.Texas Tech.

Some notes on the New York Athletic Club—

Address and phone number: NY Athletic Club
180 Central Park South, New York, NY 10019 | Tel: (212) 247-5100

Spectators are welcome. However, all attendees must be in compliance with the NYAC dress code. Business attire is the standard. A tie is not necessary, although always appropriate. Jeans, sneakers and t-shirts are not permitted. Slacks, dress shoes, a collared shirt and jacket are perfect. The dress code is located here.

· Photographers may only take only shoot in the area(s) for which permission has been granted, in this instance the Olympic suites where the tournament is being held. Unless permission is granted by the Tournament Director (Mike Hoffpauir), Video and Photography are not permitted after the first 10 minutes of each round.

· No cell phones, chess engines or any electronic communication devices will be allowed in in the playing venue.

Sponsored by: Booz Allen Hamilton
Chief Arbiter: Michael Hoffpauir
Time Control: 60-minutes, with a 30-second time increment

Susan Polgar, head coach of the 2013 College Chess Championship team from Webster University, was recognized as 2012-13 Coach of the Year by President's Cup Tournament Organizer, Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc. Susan was also the head coach of the 2011 and 2012 winning teams from Texas Tech University.