Registration is now open for the Fall 2023 season of the Collegiate Chess League! This event returns with the CCL’s tried-and-tested 4 vs. 4 team format and a $25,000 prize fund.

If you’re a university student who loves chess and wants to represent your school (and have a chance to win prizes), register your team today on the official NACE Starleague website!

The Collegiate Chess League is the premier online chess competition for college students, with last season featuring over 200 teams from 100 different universities around the world. Teams compete in a 5+2 time control, leading to lots of exciting and fast-paced games.

The tournament contains amateur players and chess hobbyists as well as chess stars like GMs Awonder Liang, Benjamin Bok, Grigoriy Oparin, and others.

Saint Louis University took the top prize in the Spring 2023 season, with convincing victories over dark-horse contenders Yale, defending CCL champions University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), and the University of Missouri, a team who defeated them during the regular season. Can they achieve a record-breaking third championship, or will another team take the crown?

Teams of all skill levels are welcomed and will be sorted into appropriate divisions based on their average rating to ensure everyone faces similarly-rated opponents. This year, Division 1 (the highest-rated division) will only feature eight teams instead of sixteen.

Registration closes on September 15. To register, please complete the following steps:

Team Captains

Team captains need to complete two steps before the other players on their team can sign up:

1. Register your team on NACE Starleague.

   • If you need help registering, check out this instructional video.
   • If your school is not on the NACE platform, you must make a request to get it added either by emailing Joe Navarro at joe.navarro@playfly.com or by asking an admin on the CCL Discord server. Please only do this if you are over the age of 18 and are the representative of your college chess team. 

2. Fill out Chess.com’s registration form.

All Other Players

Once your team captain has registered your team, follow the steps below:

1. Register on NACE Starleague and join your team.
2. Sign the fair play agreement.

Note that each team must have at least four players, with the possibility of adding up to four additional team members as substitutes.

The full rules, regulations, and prize information can be found here.

The regular season starts on September 23 and ends on November 4. The playoffs are set to begin on November 11 and end on November 19. 

Check out this division 10 highlight from last season!

Sign up to be a part of CCL’s history and play alongside other great college players. Even if you’re unable to compete in the event, there will be live coverage on the CCL’s Twitch channel to make sure you can follow all the action!