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President's Cup

UMBC vs. NYU at 2008 Final Four at UMBC

Presidents Freeman Hrabowski of UMBC and David Daniel of UTD hope to gain possession of the President's Cup at the 2008 Final Four.

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 the first weekend of April.

History

The President's Cup has taken place each year in various locations since it was founded in 2001 by Tim Redman. Since 2011, the President's Cup has been sponsored in part by Booz Allen Hamilton.

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 World Chess Federation (FIDE) and played under USCF rules. 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
2001 Dallas, TX University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) University of California, Berkeley Stanford University UTD Redman
2002 Miami, FL UTD UMBC Stanford Harvard Chess Hall of Fame Lawrence
2003 Miami, FL UMBC UTD Miami Dade University of Chicago Chess Hall of Fame Lawrence
2004 Lindsborg, KS UMBC UTD Miami Dade MIT Karpov School of Chess Korenman
2005 Lindsborg, KS UMBC UTD Miami Dade Stanford Karpov School of Chess Korenman
2006 Dallas, TX UMBC UTD Miami Dade Duke UTD Stallings
2007 Dallas, TX UTD UMBC Miami Dade Duke UTD Stallings
2008 Baltimore, MD UTD UMBC Miami Dade New York University (NYU) UMBC Sherman
2009 Dallas, TX UMBC UTD University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB) Stanford UTD Stallings
2010 Brownsville, TX UMBC UTB Texas Tech UTD Brownsville Harwood
2011 Herndon, VA Texas Tech UTD UTB UMBC Booz Allen Hamilton Herman, Hoffpauir
2012 Herndon, VA Texas Tech UMBC-UTD (tie) UMBC-UTD (tie) NYU Booz Allen Hamilton Herman, Hoffpauir
2013 Rockville, MD Webster University UTD UMBC University of Illinois Booz Allen Hamilton Herman, Hoffpauir
2014 New York, NY Webster University UMBC Texas Tech University of Illinois New York Athletic Club Booz Allen, Herman, Sifer, Hoffpauir
2015 New York, NY Webster University UTD Texas Tech UMBC New York Athletic Club Booz Allen, Herman, Hoffpauir
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