The SPICE difference

Some short years ago, I decided to use my knowledge and experience to build a world class College Chess program to give young talented players the opportunity to improve their chess while receiving a solid education. I do not believe that young talented players should make a hard choice to either go to college and give up chess, or focus on chess and ignore their education. I firmly believe that both can be accomplished at a high level.

Today, I am proud that the SPICE program has become the top College Chess program in the United States. No university in the long and prestigious history of U.S. College Chess has ever had 8 grandmasters enrolling in full time study at the same time. In fact, no program has even come close to this. The bar has been raised substantially.

SPICE has shattered many College Chess records after just some short years. Our top 5 grandmasters are all over 2600 FIDE and almost 2700 USCF! 7 of our current players are Olympians. All of them have a long list of high level accomplishments and accolades. There are a number of additional grandmasters on the waiting list to get into SPICE.

So why SPICE and Webster University? Why did players like Wesley So, Georg Meier, Fidel Corrales Jimenez, Manuel Leon Hoyos, and Ray Robson choose SPICE at Webster University instead of other universities?

Well, there are a number of reasons but below are just a few of them as discussed by Paul Truong, Director of Marketing & PR of Webster SPICE, in a recent interview:

– The opportunity to receive world class chess training to improve their strengths while minimizing their weaknesses. We have our own exclusive system to work with the players. Players will finish the program with vast improvement. A recent example is GM Manuel Leon Hoyos, the top player from Mexico. He just started at Webster over the summer. After a few short months, he made a big leap and broke 2600 (FIDE) for the first time in his career. He won the prestigious US Open a month ago while both he and Wesley So performed at the 2700 level during the Istanbul Chess Olympiad. I expect all students to improve significantly in the near future.

– The opportunity to receive top notch education from a Private Tier One Global University. What’s the difference between a Private and State University? A Private University like Webster offers small, discussion-oriented classes averaging around 15 students while classes in a State University can have hundreds of students, sometimes even more than 500 students per class. We spent the previous 5 years in a public university and there can be no comparison. Students prefer the higher level of education in a smaller environment where they can learn better and excel more. Webster University is also the only Private University in the United States to have a world class chess program.

– The opportunity to participate in first-class chess events such as the SPICE Cup Invitational, SPICE Cup Open, US Open, National Open, etc. No other university in the United States can offer this, period. Webster University is one of a kind in this regard. The SPICE Cup Invitational this year will reach category 18 which breaks the record as the highest rated International RR Invitational in U.S. history. The SPICE Cup Open currently has 12 GMs, 14 IMs, and many more master level players.

– The opportunity to receive invitations to other world class chess events from our wide circle of chess partners.

– The opportunity to be considered for summer internships in various prestigious firms. There are just too many benefits to even get into. The bottom line is our students will have unique opportunities which no one else can offer.

College Chess has become a lot stronger since SPICE was established. Young talented chess players now have a choice to improve their chess while getting a wonderful college education, and their clear top choice is Webster University. The question is why settle for the rest when you can be a part of the best?

GM Wesley So
GM Georg Meier
GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez
GM Manuel Leon Hoyos
GM Ray Robson
GM Anatoly Bykhovsky
GM Denes Boros
GM Andre Diamant

IM Vitaly Neimer
FM Jake Banawa
WIM Inna Agrest