SLU Chess Team Qualifies for Collegiate Chess Final Four
01/08/2018
Saint Louis University鈥檚 chess team is heading to college chess鈥檚 championships, the Final Four of Collegiate Chess, after placing second in the 2017 Pan-American Intercollegiate Chess Championships in December 2017.
The four-day tournament took place between Dec. 27 and 30 in Columbus, Ohio. SLU competed against 60 teams from across the United States, Canada and Mexico. SLU clinched the number two spot in the six-round Swiss-style tournament by beating Harvard University. In the Columbus tournament鈥檚 format, each team played four players per round and had up to two alternates to switch between games. Universities could field as many teams as they wanted.
The Billikens started the tournament with 4-0 victories against Penn State and University of Chicago. In the third round, SLU鈥檚 team faced a traditional chess powerhouse, the University of Texas at Dallas. The Texas university fielded five teams in the tournament but SLU prevailed 3.5-0.5 in the third round against Texas鈥檚 C squad.
The tournament鈥檚 fourth round featured a key matchup against Texas Tech's A team. Coached by former U.S. Champion Alexander Onischuk, Texas Tech won the Pan-American in 2015. Four of SLU's grandmasters faced off against Texas Tech's grandmasters, and after a grueling six hours of play and very close calls, SLU took the match by the minimum margin of 2.5-1.5.
SLU went on to face the Webster University Gorloks in the fifth round. The Gorloks, coached by the internationally-renowned Susan Polgar, current grandmaster and former child chess prodigy. After drawing on boards one, two and four, it all came down to the game between SLU graduate student Yaroslav Zherebukh and Olympic gold medalist Ray Robson. As the match progressed, Zherebukh declined a draw to tie the match in order to pursue victory, but he fell short and allowed his opponent a chance to turn the tides. Robson took the game and gave Webster the match 2.5-1.5
With a swift recovery in the final round, SLU defeated Harvard University by a convincing 3.0-1.0, securing second place. Sophomore Cemil Can Ali Marandi won best reserve of the tournament.
With Webster University鈥檚 A squad taking the tournament鈥檚 top spot, SLU, Texas Tech鈥檚 A squad and Texas Rio Grande Valley鈥檚 A squad rounded out the Final Four field.
The Final Four of Collegiate Chess will be held in New York on Thursday, March 29. The Final Four is considered to be ultimate challenge in collegiate chess and SLU鈥檚 team has already begun its preparations for the March competition.
SLU's Team for the Final Four
- Grandmaster graduate student Alexander Ipatov
- Grandmaster junior Dariusz Swiercz
- Grandmaster graduate student Yaroslav Zherebukh
- Grandmaster sophomore Francesco Rambaldi
- Grandmaster sophomore Cemil Can Ali Marandi
- International master freshman Dorsa Derakshani
Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation鈥檚 oldest and most prestigious Catholic institutions. Rooted in Jesuit values and its pioneering history as the first university west of the Mississippi River, SLU offers nearly 13,000 students a rigorous, transformative education of the whole person. At the core of the University鈥檚 diverse community of scholars is SLU鈥檚 service-focused mission, which challenges and prepares students to make the world a better, more just place.