From April 4–6, 2025, The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) will host chess teams from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), Webster University, and Saint Louis University on its campus. The occasion is the 2025 President’s Cup, the national championship of college chess. With two teams from Texas and two from Missouri, college chess bragging rights will go to one of those states. Predict the winner and YOU could be a winner too! Undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty members will also be interested in the last section of this article, about the Chessable Research Awards.
What is the President’s Cup?
My first article for SparkChess, on March 15, 2018, was about the President’s Cup, a competition for the four top U.S. schools from the immediately previous Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship (the “Pan-Am”). Unlike the Pan-Am, where match results are primary, the President’s Cup is decided by game points. Match results are a tiebreaker, used only if two teams have the same game points. For example, if two teams score 9 game points each, then the team with the better match results (like three match wins versus two match wins) earns the President’s Cup.
During pre-pandemic years, from 1946 to 2019, the Pan-Am was usually held between Christmas and New Year’s. In 2025, the Pan-Am was held January 2–5 at the Hilton Charlotte University Place and hosted by the Charlotte Chess Center.
2025 Pan-Am Standings
At the 2025 Pan-Am, UTRGV “A” (average US Chess rating 2606) finished in first place, UTD “B” (2538) in second place, SLU “A” (2590) in third place, and Webster University “A” (2632) in fourth place. The average rating considers each team’s first four boards. Teams are allowed up to two alternates, making a maximum of six students per team.
Most “chess” universities send multiple teams (labeled “A” “B” “C” “D” etc.) to the Pan-Am. Each university’s “A” team has the highest average rating of its teams. As shown by UTD in 2025, sometimes a university’s “B” team outperforms its “A” team.
Chess ≠ Swimming
Beginning in 2023, the players on each President’s Cup team are the same players shown on that team’s official roster from the immediately previous Pan-Am. Exceptions are made for illnesses, family emergencies, or students having graduated. This rule is the opposite of that used in the Olympics, where the relay team in the prelims may be completely different than the team swimming in the finals.
Think of Chess, Think of Texas
A University of Texas System video congratulated its member institutions UTRGV (first place) and UTD (third place) for their participation in the 2019 President’s Cup. The video’s narrator states, “It’s clear that when people think of chess they better think of Texas. Congratulations to the Vaqueros, 2019 national chess champions.” UTRGV, mascot Vaqueros, also won the President’s Cup in 2018 and 2021.
UTD won the President’s Cup in 2001, 2002, 2007, and 2008. Texas Tech University won the President’s Cup in 2011 and 2012.
A Ripple Effect in Missouri
Webster University’s main U.S. campus is in the St. Louis suburb of Webster Groves, Missouri. Webster University won the President’s Cup in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2023. Other universities in Missouri took notice, creating their own chess teams. A Webster University webpage noted this ripple effect:
Saint Louis University, located near the center of the city, created its first chess team in 2016, winning its first national title [President’s Cup] in 2022. Mizzou (the University of Missouri), located about 100 miles west of St. Louis followed suit, creating its chess team in 2019. In 2023, SLU, and Mizzou finished in the top four spots in the Pan American tournament, with Webster taking first place in that tournament and in the President’s Cup.
Mizzou won the President’s Cup in 2024.
Location and History
A UTD news release states “The 2025 President’s Cup will be held April 4-6 on the UT Dallas campus, with competitors squaring off in the McDermott Suite in the Eugene McDermott Library and match viewing available in the Gaming Wall Lounge in the Student Services Building Addition.” The April 4 Friday night banquet is open to the competitors and their supporting personnel. Chess.com will show President’s Cup games on April 5 and April 6.
Graeme Cree’s website includes pairings, games, and results from 2001, when the President’s Cup began, to the present. For McFarland, which published my eighth book United States Women’s Chess Champions, 1937-2020, I am writing President’s Cup: National Championship of College Chess. It will be published in late 2026 or early 2027.
Contest
As mentioned earlier, the 2025 President’s Cup teams, in order of finish at the 2025 Pan-Am, are
- The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV)
- The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD)
- Saint Louis University (SLU)
- Webster University (Webster)
Can you predict the order of finish of the four teams and the game points scored by the winning team?
Contest rules
- In the Comments section to this article, list the four teams in the order you think they will finish. The first team you list should be the team you think will finish in first place. So “Webster, SLU, UTD, and UTRGV” means that you think Webster University will be in first, Saint Louis University in second, The University of Texas at Dallas in third, and The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in fourth. Your comment should also include the winning team’s final score (see #4 and #5 below).
- Only the first comment you submit with your prediction counts for the contest. If you write multiple comments, we will still only count your first one.
- Your comment must be submitted by midnight on April 4, 2025, Central Time (the time zone in Texas, where the President’s Cup will be played April 5–6).
- As a tiebreaker, please also list the number of points you think the winning team will score out of 12 games played, for example “Webster will score 8 points.”
- You must enter your correct email address in the comment so we can contact you if you win.
- Ten SparkChess Premium Live one-year memberships will be awarded to participants in this contest. The memberships will go to the 10 contest participants who picked the correct finish order. If more than 10 participants picked the correct finish order, the 10 who got closest to the winning team’s final score, without going over that score, get the memberships on tiebreak. For example, if Webster scores 8 points and you guessed 7.5 and someone else guessed 8.5, your tiebreak is better.
Chessable Research Awards
There is another way to “win” with chess this spring if you are an undergraduate, graduate student, or faculty member. Apply for the Chessable Research Awards!
The Chessable Research Awards aim to promote chess research and develop our understanding of how chess can benefit our lives, how we can improve our knowledge of the game, and how we can understand other phenomena, both within and outside of the chess world. Awards include $500 for each winning faculty research sponsor, $500 for each undergraduate student winner, and $1,000 for each winning graduate student. The deadline to apply is May 15, 2025.
University students from all fields of study, such as cognitive psychology, education, literature, history, computer science, etc., are invited to apply. For more information, visit the Chessable Research Awards site at chessable.com/research_awards.
