The reigning champions of the Collegiate Chess League (CCL), Saint Louis University (SLU), have a difficult path to defending their title. They have lost a match already, and have not yet played the other finalist from last season, the University of Missouri, Columbia. If they’re discouraged, SLU did not show it in their play, dominating from start to finish in week five against SRM Institute of Science and Technology.
The CCL continues with week six on Saturday, November 1, at 11 a.m. ET.
Collegiate Chess League Division 1 — Fall 2025 Week 5 Standings
SLU 13 -3 SRM
SLU played an all-GM lineup of Viktor Gazik, Aryan Chopra, Dambauren Batsuren, and Nikolozi Kacharava. SRM also entered week five with only one loss. Their team featured GM Srihari L R, IM Srihari L, IM Harsh Suresh, and IM Raahul VS.
SLU dominated the match from the very beginning, with a 3.5-0.5 score in the first round. Batsuren, delivered a powerful combination, on his way to a 3/4 score for the day. However, it’s hard to finish off a blitz game without allowing counterplay, and Srihari nearly came back to hold the draw.
Gazik led the way for SLU with a perfect 4/4 score. His final round opponent, R L Srihari, put up strong resistance, but stumbled right near the finish line.
Although they only won one game in the match, SRM’s team played several strong games. It’s simply, tough to fight against strong grandmasters in every game. The following battle demonstrates the difficulty that they were facing. Srihari L played creatively and well against Chopra, with a beautiful exchange sacrifice, yet Chopra never cracked, and he was even the one who missed a win toward the end.Â
You can check out this match below, hosted by Joe Lee.Â
The Collegiate Chess League is the premier online chess competition for college students.
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