In the spring season of the Collegiate Chess League, the University of Missouri (Mizzou) lost to St. Louis University (SLU) in the Finals, to finish in second place. This year they are looking for more and are off to a good start, winning their first two matches, including a week two victory against Texas Tech University (TTU) by a score of 11-5.
The CCL continues with week three on Saturday, October 11, at 11 a.m. ET/17:00 CEST/8:30 p.m. IST.
Standings After Week 2
Mizzou 11 – 5 TTU
As befits one of the league’s favorites, Mizzou features an all-GM lineup of GM Aryan Tari, GM Mahel Boyer, GM Isik Can, and GM Luka Budisavlejevic. TTU was a strong team, but had an uphill battle with no grandmasters playing. They were IM Sebastian Kostolansky, IM Roman Pyrih, IM Bogdan Bilovil, and NM Nathaniel Philip Moor.
TTU’s upset hopes took a serious hit in the first round, as they lost all four games. Budisavlejevic gave his team a big boost, winning as board four against the opposing board one.
TTU fought back in round two, winning three games to cut the deficit to two points. The hero of the round was Bilovil, who turned around a lost position and won a wild game against Tari.
After losing three games in a row to end the second round, Mizzou retook control in round three. Tari led the way, winning a long struggle against Pyrih, where he broke down a fortress, only a few moves before the 50-move rule would have led to a draw. Tari admitted that he thought the game was going to be a draw, but his perseverance paid off in the end.
Mizzou only needed a half-point in the final round to clinch match victory. They didn’t stop there and won the match convincingly, 11-5. It’s noteworthy that this is a half-point more than SLU scored against the same opponent last week. After the match Tari expressed confidence in his team, saying, “If we play our normal level, we should always win, but against St. Louis it will be closer.”
You can check out this match and a Division Two battle between Michigan and Yale here.
The live broadcast was hosted by Joe Lee.
The Collegiate Chess League is the premier online chess competition for college students.
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