The University of Missouri (Mizzou) and Saint Louis University (SLU) started on the right foot in the first week of the $25,000, SIG-sponsored 2023 Collegiate Chess League (CCL) by recording compelling victories over the University of Virginia (UVA) and Columbia University (CU), respectively.

Led by star GMs Grigoriy Oparin and Mikhail Antipov, Mizzou flexed their muscles and posted a 12-4 score but were almost outshone by UVA’s board one NM Jason Morefield, who scored 3/4 against Mizzou’s GMs and WGM.

SLU was even more convincing in their 13.5-2.5 victory over CU and their three GMs; Nikolas Theodorou, Benjamin Bok, and Dambasuren Batsuren scored perfect 4/4s to commence their campaign.

Week two of the CCL will commence September 30 at 2:00 p.m. ET / 20:00 CEST / 11.30 p.m. IST.

The CCL is back for another season this fall with over 1,000 players worldwide vying to help their universities ascend to the top of the chess world. Eight teams have been seeded into the first division, and a seven-week round-robin will play out to determine the top six teams who will progress to a single-round elimination, where the victorious team will win $5,000. 

Mizzou and SLU, both former season winners, headlined the first day of action which saw no less than seven GMs play across the four competing teams. This point is important to consider in a format where all four team members must play against each member of their paired team in 5+2 games.

Mizzou 12 – 4 UVA

As the firm favorite in their matchup with UVA, Mizzou started strongly with 3-1 in round one with all three GMs winning their games.

On board two, Antipov put on an exhibition in kingside attacking as Black against Nicholas Xie and successfully herded his opponent’s king to the middle of the board. Oparin and GM Harshit Raja also eventually prevailed while board four WGM Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova fell to UVA’s board one Morefield.

Morefield continued to perform above his level in the second round and scored the first of two major upsets of the match, dispatching Harshit in 34 moves after finding a spectacular finishing shot.

Equipped with a 2226 FIDE rating, Morefield’s rise to the upper echelons of chess seems to have been slowed by inactivity during COVID-19 lockdowns. Since 2019, the two-time Virginian champion has grown his Chess.com blitz rating by 400 points… from 2400 to above 2800.

Fortunately for Mizzou, their remaining GMs and WGM picked up 2.5/3 on their boards. Special credit has to go to Tokhirjonova who successfully defended a rook vs. rook and knight until the 161st move.

A 161-move draw as Begim defends Rook vs. Rook + Knight! #CCL pic.twitter.com/ECN0v4b01S

— CollegiateChessLeague (@CollegiateChess) September 23, 2023

Needing only 2.5 points to secure a match victory in the third round, Mizzou stamped their authority on the match and won 4-0 but were challenged by a resilient UVA team in the fourth and final round where they only managed to score 2.5/4.

Morefield was once again the hero for his team as he used a Greek-gift style tactic to gain the upper hand against Oparin, who opted to play the rarely seen St. George Defense in the final round.

NM Owen McCoy, rated 2085, also managed to hold Antipov to a draw. However, defeating Mizzou means scoring consistently against their boards three and four, Harshit and Tokhirjonova, a feat which proved too difficult.

Boasting a stacked lineup, Mizzou will look to improve upon their third-placed finish in the recently concluded season but will eventually encounter other frontrunners including SLU as well as the defending champion, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

SLU 13.5 – 2.5 CU

The second match of the day pitted the Bok-bolstered SLU against CU, the latter of whom are spearheaded by the dangerous GM Brandon Jacobson. Bok would later state about SLU’s ambitions: “Our only goal this season is to win, obviously.”

Benjamin Bok, who scored 4/4 today: “Our only goal this season is to win, obviously!” #CCL pic.twitter.com/tUAsW51Sdd

— CollegiateChessLeague (@CollegiateChess) September 23, 2023

With serious rating mismatches on display in the first round, CU was fortunate to score one point in Jacobson-Cervantes and fought valiantly to make SLU’s 3-1 margin as difficult as possible to accrue. CU’s board four Ze Wang had the daunting task of facing SLU’s board one Theodorou and stepped up to the mark. Outrated on Chess.com by over 1,200 points, Ze survived 68 moves before resigning in a same-colored bishop endgame.

In round two, SLU posted a 3.5-0.5 score, courtesy of each of their GMs winning. Mongolia’s Batsuren was the standout of the round as he flagged Jacobson after checking all the boxes on the black side of the Nimzo-Indian Defense.

A 6.5-1.5 score left SLU in the box seat heading into the final two rounds, and the rating favorites left nothing to chance, pushing for a 4-0 score and securing their position at the top of the table. Even CU’s board one Jacobson could do little to save them as he suffered a loss against popular content creator Bok. 

After weathering the storm in the opening phase, the Dutch GM exchanged into an equal rook and pawn ending before outplaying Jacobson. The game is a stunning example of Bok’s technical prowess and is our Game Of The Day, which has been analyzed by GM Rafael Leitao below.

With the match wrapped up after three rounds, the fourth was inconsequential, though SLU looked to make a statement to the rest of the competition by staying switched on and confirming a dominant 13.5-2.5 result.

All Games | Week One

The CCL is the premier online chess competition for college students. The CCL Fall Season is a team event started on September 23 and features a $25,000 prize fund.

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