Saint Louis Overcomes Yale in Shocking Finish, SRM Still Perfect

SRM added another victory to their winning streak in week five of the 2024 Collegiate Chess League (CCL) Fall Season, reaching a perfect 5-0. Saint Louis defeated Yale and is tied for second with UT Rio Grande Valley.

GM Pranesh M and IM L R Srihari both turned in perfect 4-0s to ease SRM's road to victory vs. Prague. GM Robby Kevlishvili, went 4/4 to help his team win a close match.

The CCL continues with week six on Saturday, November 2, 2024, at 2 p.m. ET/19:00 CET/11:30 p.m. IST.

Collegiate Chess League - Week 5 Standings

• SRM Continues Rampage: Prague 4.5-11.5 SRM
• SLU Tips the Scales vs. Ivy League Rival: Saint Louis 9.5-6.5 Yale

SRM Continues Rampage: Prague 4.5-11.5 SRM

The top of the scoreboard, SRM, faced the team at the bottom, Prague, creating a matchup of leaders vs. underdogs. Would SRM win their fifth match in a row or would Prague claw their way out of their losing streak with a shocking upset?

These uneven rivals began with a 2-2 tie. Prague's board-one, IM Richard Mladek, scored a 97-move upset victory vs. GM Arjun Kalyan.

In the next round, the leaders reminded us of how they got there: SRM won on every board, taking a four-point lead in the match. Srihari's knights were a knightmare for IM Jan Vykouk. 

SRM mercilessly sealed the match in round three, scoring 3.5-0.5. Srihari's bishop pair wreaked havoc on his opponent's position in the miniature he won vs. FM Ondrej Svanda.

SLU Tips the Scales vs. Ivy League Rival: Saint Louis 9.5-6.5 Yale

The lineups between Saint Louis and Yale were fairly close with SLU having a small edge, setting up the hope of a hard-fought match. As the defending champions fight to finish the regular season in the top-two spots, Yale duels to reach the playoffs. 

Both teams showed their teeth in this contentious matchup, starting with a 2-2 split with all decisive games. GM Nicolas Checa prevailed in a tactical slugfest vs. NM Shelev Oberoi.

Yale and SLU held the balance yet again in round two. Checa was on the verge of defeating GM Nikolozi Kacharava when Yale's board-one made a misstep in a winning rook ending. Meanwhile, FM Davis Zong held a draw vs. GM Dambasuren Batsuren.

Returning from halftime, it looked like Yale could take over the lead in round three. SLU's top boards were under fire. GM Arthur Guo gained an extra pawn and kingside pressure vs. Kevlishvili. At the same time, Checa gained a convincing position vs. Batsuren by move 16. While Kevlishvili managed to fight back and win, Checa took his game home by gaining an insumountable amount of extra material. 

This is our Game of the Day, with analysis by GM Rafael Leitao. 

Kevlishvili's comeback turned the tide in Saint Louis's favor, and they took the first lead of the match by one point. In the final round, Kevlishvili also won the duel of board-ones with an early bishop sacrifice vs. Checa. 

Now, SLU was just a point away from winning the match with three games remaining. Yet, Yale fought on—on all three boards, they had the advantage. The match finished with one shock after another. Batsuren turned the tide in the endgame vs. Guo. Shelev fled his king out of harm's way to the opposite side and then ran Zong out of time in an equal ending. Though SLU had already clinched the match, Kacharava blundered his rook in a won position. 

After the match, Kevlishvili shared his thoughts on their biggest rivals this season:

I think it’s pretty clear that the main competition this year is SRM. We obviously lost to them in a very close match. I did pretty well that match, and the rest of the team underperformed, to put it lightly. I think if all of them just do slightly better next time we meet them, we should be in good shape. 

I think it’s pretty clear that the main competition this year is SRM.

—Robby Kevlishvili

In week six, several of the favorites will duke it out. The leading SRM team will face the top-seed, Missouri. In addition, the teams tied for second, Saint Louis and UTRGV, will have a chance to break their tie.  

The Collegiate Chess League is the premier online chess competition for college students. The 2024 CCL Fall Season is a team event that started September 28 at 2 p.m. ET/20:00 CET/0:30 a.m. IST and features a $25,000 prize fund. 

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Previous reports:

• SRM Reaches Perfect 4/4, Saint Louis Bounces Back
• Newcomers Take Down 4-Time Champions, Team Spirit Carries Athens To Victory
• Missouri Unleashes 'Star Recruit' Tari In Win Over Athens
• Virginia Upsets Top-Seeded Missouri, Saint Louis Defeats Athens
• Registrations Are Open For The Collegiate Chess League Fall 2024 Season