Harvard-Yale chess match

The Harvard-Yale chess match is held annually around the time of the Harvard-Yale football game in November on the campus of the university hosting the football game that year. It is a relatively informal match and the schools don't typically submit the games to the United States Chess Federation for rating. Nevertheless, it is one of the highlights of the year for each school's chess club. The match typically consists of five games, pitting five current Harvard students against five current Yale students (undergraduate or graduate), with each board numbered 1 through 5 (with 1 having the strongest players and 5 having the weakest). The team with the most game points is declared the winner of the match, with a win worth 1 point, a draw worth half a point, and a loss worth 0 points. In the case of a tie, either the match is declared a tie, or a tie-breaking procedure is applied. Tie-breaking procedures applied in the past included using the result of the strongest non-drawing board as the result of the match, or using results achieved on boards numbered higher than 5 by players from each school who were not selected to be in the top five. Match details vary each year depending on the preferences of current members of each school’s chess club.

Those who play in the match are typically strong tournament players. The ratings range from around 1800 to 2400 USCF. Players occasionally are FIDE International Masters or Grand Masters.

As of 2015, the champion is Harvard, after defeating Yale 4-1.

Results

Year	Site	Match format	Tie-break	Winner	Score	Harvard avg. USCF rating	Yale avg. USCF rating
2015	Yale	5 boards, G/45	None	Harvard	4-1	Unknown	Unknown
2014	Harvard	5 boards, G/45	6th board	Harvard	3-2	2162	2031
2013	Yale	5 boards, G/60	Unknown	Yale	3-2	2069	2200
2012	Harvard	5 boards, G/60	Additional boards	Tie	2½-2½	Unknown	2211
2011	Yale	5 boards, G/60	Additional boards	Yale	3-2	2119	2258
2010	Harvard	5 boards, G/60	tie-break proc.	Harvard	3-2	Harvard avg. USCF rating	Yale avg. USCF rating
2009	Yale	5 boards, G/60	tie-break proc.	Harvard	3-2	Harvard avg. USCF rating	Yale avg. USCF rating
2008	Harvard	5 boards, G/45	None	Harvard	4-1	2186	2079
2007	Yale	match format	tie-break proc.	Tie	score	Harvard avg. USCF rating	Yale avg. USCF rating
2006	Harvard	Unknown	Unknown	Harvard	3-2	Unknown	Unknown
2005	Yale	5 boards, G/60	Non-draw result on strongest board	Yale	3-2	2083	2092
2004	Harvard	4 boards, G/60	None	Tie	2-2	2118	2225
2003	site	match format	tie-break proc.	winner	score	Harvard avg. USCF rating	Yale avg. USCF rating
2002	site	match format	tie-break proc.	winner	score	Harvard avg. USCF rating	Yale avg. USCF rating
2001	site	match format	tie-break proc.	Yale	score	Harvard avg. USCF rating	Yale avg. USCF rating
2000	site	match format	tie-break proc.	Harvard	score	2066	Yale avg. USCF rating
1999	site	match format	tie-break proc.	Yale	score	Harvard avg. USCF rating	Yale avg. USCF rating
1998	site	match format	tie-break proc.	winner	score	Harvard avg. USCF rating	Yale avg. USCF rating
1997	site	match format	tie-break proc.	winner	score	Harvard avg. USCF rating	Yale avg. USCF rating
1996	site	match format	tie-break proc.	winner	score	Harvard avg. USCF rating	Yale avg. USCF rating
1995	site	match format	tie-break proc.	winner	score	Harvard avg. USCF rating	Yale avg. USCF rating

Notable players who have competed in the match

FIDE Grandmasters

• Robert Hess (Yale: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014)
• Patrick Wolff (Yale, Harvard, GM title earned in 1990)
• Joel Benjamin (Yale, GM title earned in 1986)

FIDE International Masters

• Bogdan Vioreanu (Yale: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
• Marc Esserman (Harvard: 2001, IM title earned in 2009)
• Teddy Coleman (Harvard: 2008, 2009, 2010, IM title earned in 2012)

FIDE Masters

• Akira Watanabe (Yale: 2004)
• Jacob Chudnovsky (Harvard: 2000)
• Charles Riordan (Harvard: 2000, FM title earned in 2008)

Other

• Kurt Hugo Schneider (Yale: 2006, 2008, 2009)

Games

2009, Board 1, Coleman (H) vs. Vioreanu (Y)
2010, Board 1, Coleman (H) vs. Vioreanu (Y)