Webster University top 10 players
– Grandmaster Wesley So
– Grandmaster Georg Meier
– Grandmaster Ray Robson
– Grandmaster Fidel Corrales Jimenez
– Grandmaster Manuel Leon Hoyos
– Grandmaster Anatoly Bykhovsky
– Grandmaster Denes Boros
– Grandmaster Andre Diamant
– IM Vitaly Neimer
– FM Jake Banawa
Chess Team Accomplishments
The Webster University chess team has been ranked #1 in Division I College Chess since its inception in August 2012. It has never relinquished the top ranking.
National Championships (9)
August 2012
– 2012 U.S. Open Championship: 1st place (GM Manuel Leon Hoyos)
– 2012 U.S. Open Rapid (g/15) Championship: 1st place (GM Andre Diamant and IM Vitaly Neimer)
– 2012 U.S. Open Blitz Championship: 1st place (GM Andre Diamant), 2nd place (GM Anatoly Bykhovsky)
December 2012
– 2012 PanAm Intercollegiate Championship: Both A and B team tied for 1st place
– 2012 PanAm Intercollegiate Championship: Top reserve player (GM Manuel Leon Hoyos)
April 2013
– 2013 College Chess Final Four: 1st place (GMs Georg Meier, Wesley So, Ray Robson, Fidel Corrales Jimenez, Manuel Leon Hoyos, and Anatoly Bykhovsky)
June 2013
– 2013 National Open: 1st place (GMs Wesley So and Manuel Leon Hoyos)
– 2013 National Open Blitz Championship: 1st place (GM Wesley So)
– 2013 National G/10 Championship at National Open: 1st place (GM Wesley So)
State Championships (3)
September 2012
– 2012 Missouri State Championship: 1st place (GM Denes Boros and GM Anatoly Bykhovsky)
– 2012 Missouri State Rapid Championship: 1st place (GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez)
– 2012 Missouri State Blitz Championship: 1st place (GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez)
Major International Events
August 2012
– 2012 World Chess Olympiad (Istanbul, Turkey): Team Silver in Group A (GM Ray Robson – USA)
– 2012 World Chess Olympiad (Istanbul, Turkey): Team Bronze in Group B (GM Wesley So – Philippines)
January 2013
– 2013 World Cup Qualifier: GM Wesley So qualified for the 2013 World Cup which will take place in Tromsø, Norway in August 2013
February 2013
– 2013 Reykjavik Open: Co-champion (GM Wesley So)
May 2013
– 2013 Calgary International: 1st place (GM Wesley So)
– 2013 Calgary International Blitz: 1st place (GM Wesley So)
Major U.S. Events (7)
October 2012
– 2012 SPICE Cup Open: 1st place (GM Ray Robson), 2nd place (GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez), 3rd place (IM Vitaly Neimer)
November 2012
– 2012 Thanksgiving Open in St. Louis: 1st place (GMs Georg Meier, Fidel Corrales Jimenez, Denes Boros)
– 2012 SLCC GM Invitational: 1st place (IM Vitaly Neimer)
January 2013
– 2013 Cardinal Open: 1st place (GM Andre Diamant)
March 2013
– 2013 Philadelphia Open: 1st place (GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez)
April 2013
– 2013 St. Louis Open Championship: 1st place (GMs Wesley So, Georg Meier, and Manuel Leon Hoyos)
– 2013 Chicago Open: 1st place (Ray Robson)
Additional collegiate chess records
• 1st team in history (Webster University) to be ranked #1 in the nation in the first year of forming a team (August 2012 – now)
• 1st team in history (Webster University) to qualify for the Final Four in the first year of forming a team (December 2012)
• 1st team in history (Webster University) to be seeded #1 in the Final Four in the first year of forming a team (April 2013)
• 1st female (Susan Polgar) to coach a men’s team to the National Championship (2011)
• 1st female (Susan Polgar) to coach a men’s team to back to back National Championships (2011-2012)
• 1st female (Susan Polgar) to coach a men’s team to 3 straight National Championships (2011-2013)
• 1st coach, male or female, to win National Championships with 2 different schools (TTU 2011-2012, and Webster U 2013)
• 1st college team with 8 GMs (Fall 2012)
• Most points scored in the Final Four (April 2013 – Webster University finished with 9.5 points)
• Largest margin of victory in the Final Four (April 2013 – Webster University finished 2.5 points ahead of 2nd place UTD)
• 1st person (Susan Polgar) to be named College Chess Coach of the Year (April 2013)
Webster University sponsored and organized (in partnership with the Susan Polgar Foundation):
– The 2012 SPICE Cup (category 18 – highest rated round robin tournament in US history)
– The 2012 SPICE Cup Open (over $10,000 in cash prizes with no entry fees to provide norm opportunities for players)
– The 2012 SPF Girls’ Invitational (the most prestigious all-girls event in the U.S. with tournament budget and prizes over $200,000)
Members of Webster University Chess Program (rating from 1,200 to over 2,700) have an average grade point of average of over 3.5
Compiled and written by Paul Truong
Yes, but Webster will never win College of the Year. The USCF and members of the College Chess Committee will never allow it.
Yes they stack their team with superstars kinda like the UConn women in college basketball. Susan is the Geno Auriemma of chess.