– Grandmaster Andre Diamant, a sophomore at Webster U, won the 36th Cardinal Open. The event took place on January 25-27 in Columbus, Ohio. With 4.5 points in 5 rounds, Andre finished clear first, ahead of 3 former US Champions (GMs Shabalov, Yermolinsky, and Gurevich).
– Iskandar Aripov (Uzbekistan), a student at Webster Groves High School, won the 2013 St. Louis Chess Club Championship. The event took place on January 26-27 at the St. Louis Chess Club. With 4.5 points in 5 rounds, Iskandar finished clear first, ahead of other top players in the St. Louis area. He also earned the National Master title with this excellent results. Iskandar has been a part of the Webster University – SPICE training program since the fall of 2012. No student from Webster U participated in this event.
– Grandmaster Wesley So (Philippines), at freshman at Webster U, has just earned a spot in the 2013 World Cup, which will take place in Tromso, Norway, in August, by finishing in the top 2 at the Zonal 3.3 Championship. The event took place on January 21-29 in Tagaytay City, Philippines.
– Another Webster U freshman, grandmaster Ray Robson, helped team USA capture the 2013 Pan-American Team Championship. The event took place on January 24-29 in Campinas, Brazil. With this victory, team USA earned a berth in the World Team Championship, scheduled to be held in Antalya, Turkey, on December 1 of this year. Ray, the youngest member of the 5-player squad, played board 3 for the national team.
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
The SPICE Boys rock!