SLU Chess Wins Third Consecutive Collegiate Chess League Title
03/28/2024
For the third straight season, Saint Louis University’s chess team won the Collegiate Chess League (CCL) title.
SLU beat Webster University in the title match on Sunday, March 24, to claim the 2024 spring title. The win continued the Billikens’ run of success in CCL action after SLU swept the 2023 season by winning both the spring and fall titles.
Photo by Sarah Conroy.
The CCL is the premier online chess competition for college students. The spring season began in January. SLU cruised through the tournament and advanced to the semifinals.
In the semifinals, the Billikens faced off with the University of Missouri. SLU pulled off a narrow 9-7 win to make the finals. In the final round, SLU dominated. The team, comprised of Nikolas Theodorou, Benjamin Bok, Robby Kevlishvili, and Dambasuren Batsuren, easily dispatched Webster 12.0-4.0 in the finals.
“This was a very tough season, we defeated Mizzou in the semifinals, and then in the finals, we played absolutely brilliantly and defeated the very strong Webster team,” said Head coach Varuzhan Akobian. “We won our match against Webster with one round to spare.”
Akobian said the victory was special because it was the last CCL action for two key members of the squad.
"We were very happy for our convincing victory — especially since Grandmasters Benjamin Bok and Nikolas Theodorous are graduating this May,” he said. “They have been absolutely tremendous and instrumental in helping SLU win many titles during their six years here at SLU."
Latest Newslink
- SLU's Sarah Adam Becomes First Woman Named to US Paralympic Wheelchair Rugby TeamSarah Adam, OTD, assistant professor of occupational science and occupational therapy at Saint Louis University, is one of 12 athletes who will represent the U.S. at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8.
- Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling: SLU to Host Be Heard! Women in Leadership ConferenceSaint Louis University’s Emerson Leadership Institute will host its third annual Be Heard! Women in Leadership conference on Friday, May 3. The free event, “Breaking and Powering Through the Bamboo Ceiling,” will kick off Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The half-day event will focus on cultural differences, the history of stereotyping, unconscious bias, and the myth of the model minority.
- Saint Louis University Researchers Identify a Biomarker for Severe Liver Disease in InfantsIn a new study, Saint Louis University School of Medicine researchers and colleagues have identified biomarkers in high-risk infants with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD). This is a condition that is life-threatening in some infants but very mild in others. For the first time, predicting which children need lifesaving intervention is possible.
- Jamaica Kincaid Receives the 2024 St. Louis Literary AwardRenowned Antigua-born author Jamaica Kincaid received the 2024 St. Louis Literary Award on Thursday, April 25. In her works, Kincaid explores themes of colonialism, gender and sexuality, racism, class, and familial relationships.
- Colson Whitehead to Receive the 2025 St. Louis Literary AwardPulitzer Prize-winning author Colson Whitehead will receive the 2025 St. Louis Literary Award from Saint Louis University. Whitehead will come to St. Louis next spring to accept the award. The award ceremony will be held in April 2025.Whitehead is the author of the novels “The Intuitionist,” “John Henry Days,” “Apex Hides the Hurt,” “Sag Harbor,” “The Underground Railroad,” “The Nickel Boys,” and “Harlem Shuffle,” among others.
- SLU Students Receive Fulbright RecognitionSaint Louis University has one finalist for a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship and one alternate for a Research/Study Award. Grace Almgren received an English Teaching Assistant and will be teaching in Spain. The research/study alternate is Anuj Gandhi, who applied for a Fulbright-Nehru Student Research Grant. An alternate is a candidate who can be promoted to Finalist status if additional funding becomes available.