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Webster Wins Final Four Championship |
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Wednesday, 10 April 2013 17:47 |
Webster University made history when it became the first St. Louis team ever to win a Final Four collegiate chess championship. Webster's top-ranked chess team emerged victorious in the President's Cup – also known as the Final Four of Collegiate Chess – a two-day throw-down that determines the national champion of college chess teams. The tournament was held Saturday and today in Rockville, Md.
The Final Four is the most prestigious team tournament in collegiate chess; the winner is known as the national champion of college chess. To get to the Final Four, teams must first compete in the Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship, held each year during the last week of December. Only the top four teams in this event qualify for the Final Four. This year, in addition to Webster, other schools competing in the Final Four were the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, University of Texas-Dallas and University of Illinois.
In the round robin-format Final Four, each of the four school teams played in three rounds of competition, playing one full match against each of the other schools.
In the final round on Sunday, Webster faced the Texas team. Two of the games were a draw, and Webster won the final two matches, earning 9.5 points to Texas' 7.
"Congratulations to all the members of our team and all who support them, as I know that they have worked hard to prepare for this moment," said President Beth Stroble, who was in the Washington, D.C. area this weekend to watch the Final Four. "Their competitors were smart, tough, and skilled and there were many tense moments this weekend, which makes this championship particularly significant for Webster University. I couldn't be prouder."
"Today was a great day for chess, for Webster and for Webster's chess team, and for all of our students who worked hard to win this tournament," said Provost Julian Schuster, who also accompanied the team to the Final Four competition. "We are all winners because this accomplishment came about through the hard work and dedication from the people who love chess, who love Webster, and from all our supporters in the community. We are proud of all of our students and are proud of the chess program, and we look forward to many more years of championships."
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