President's Cup (chess) explained

The President's Cup (informally known as the Final Four of College Chess) determines the U.S. college team chess champion. Hosted in part by the United States Chess Federation (USCF), the President's Cup is an annual invitational team championship, open to the top four U.S. schools from the most recent Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship (Pan-Am). It is run as a fixed-roster team round-robin tournament, scored by individual (not team) points. The President's Cup usually takes place in early Spring.

History

The President's Cup has taken place each year in various locations since it was founded in 2001 by Dr. Tim Redman with the financial support of University of Texas at Dallas president Dr. Franklyn Jenifer. Since 2011, the President's Cup has been sponsored in part by Booz Allen Hamilton. The event in 2020 was to be held in April but was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Final Four teams that qualified that year were Texas Tech, University of Texas at Dallas, Webster University, and Saint Louis University.

Rules

The governing body for the President's Cup is the College Chess Committee (CCC) of the USCF. The event is rated by the USCF and International Chess Federation (FIDE) and played under the FIDE Laws of Chess. The CCC has established eligibility requirements for college chess, and these same requirements apply to the Pan-Am and the President's Cup. Each team comprises four players and up to two alternates from the same school campus. Unlike the Pan-Am, ties for first place are broken (the title is not shared).

Significance

The winner of the President's Cup is considered the top chess team among U.S. post-secondary schools (colleges, universities, community colleges). By contrast, the Pan-Am determines the top post-secondary school in North American, Central America, South America, or the Caribbean. The winning school takes possession of the perpetual trophy, created in 2008 using funds from Sun Trust Bank, for one year.

Winners and venues

Year Location 1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place 4th Place Host Organizer/TD
2001 Richardson, TXUniversity of Texas at Dallas (UTD)University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)University of California, BerkeleyStanford UniversityUTD Redman
2002 Miami, FLUTD UMBC Stanford Harvard UniversityChess Hall of Fame Lawrence
2003 Miami, FLUMBC UTD University of ChicagoChess Hall of Fame Lawrence
2004 Lindsborg, KSUMBC UTD Miami Dade MITKarpov School of Chess Korenman
2005 Lindsborg, KSUMBC UTD Miami Dade StanfordKarpov School of Chess Korenman
2006 Richardson, TXUMBC UTD Miami Dade DukeUTD Stallings
2007 Richardson, TXUTD UMBC Miami Dade DukeUTD Stallings
2008 Baltimore, MDUTD UMBC Miami Dade New York University (NYU)UMBC Sherman
2009 Richardson, TXUMBC UTD University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB, now UTRGV) StanfordUTD Stallings
2010 Brownsville, TXUMBC UTB (now UTRGV) Texas Tech University (TTU)UTDBrownsville Harwood
2011 Herndon, VATexas Tech UTD UTB (now UTRGV) UMBCBooz Allen Hamilton Herman, Hoffpauir
2012 Herndon, VATexas Tech UMBC-UTD (tie) UMBC-UTD (tie) NYUBooz Allen Hamilton Herman, Hoffpauir
2013 Rockville, MDWebster University (Webster)UTD UMBC University of IllinoisBooz Allen Hamilton Herman, Hoffpauir
2014 New York, NYWebsterUMBC TTU University of IllinoisNew York Athletic Club Booz Allen, Herman, Sifer, Hoffpauir
2015 New York, NY Webster University UTD TTU UMBC New York Athletic Club Booz Allen, Herman, Hoffpauir
2016 New York, NY Webster University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Texas Tech Columbia UniversityMarshall Chess Club Two Sigma, Booz Allen, Herman, Hoffpauir
2017 New York, NY Webster TTU St. Louis University (SLU)UTDMarshall Chess Club Two Sigma, Booz Allen, Herman, Garcia
2018 New York, NY UTRGV Webster TTU SLUMarshall Chess Club Two Sigma, Booz Allen, Herman, Garcia
2019 New York, NY UTRGV Webster UTD Harvard UniversityMarshall Chess Club Two Sigma, Booz Allen, Herman, Garcia
2021 OnlineUTRGV SLU Webster TTULangland
2022 Lubbock, TX SLU Webster UTD TTUTexas Tech UniversityBird
2023 Saint Louis, MO Webster SLU UTRGV University of Missouri (Mizzou)Webster University Bird
2024 Richardson, TX Mizzou Webster UTRGV UTDUTD Steiner/Reed

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