Yale, then again, is spearheaded by Checa on board one and has NMs Linden Lee and Siddharth Arun flanking the harmful Maxim Yaskolko on board three.

A 2-2 draw out of the gates transpired between the 2 groups and, notably, it was a 4-0 sweep for the black items. IM Gleb Dudin‘s victory over Yaskolko was maybe probably the most spectacular as he carved a gap in his opponent’s kingside in a Sicilian Protection: Najdorf Variation.

Our Sport of the Day has been annotated by GM Rafael Leitao.

Spherical two is the place the match opened up, and a 4-0 demolition by UTRGV positioned Yale on the cusp of elimination. Even Yale’s board-one Checa, who possesses a FIDE score of 2517, was dispatched by IM Jakub Fus after making an attempt to arrange an endgame fortress.

The highest scorer for UTRGV, although, was Rodrigue-Lemieux, who registered a 3.5/4 rating on Saturday. As one of many standouts for his crew within the round-robin stage (9/12), the Canadian was capable of outplay every of his opponents within the quarterfinals and information his crew to victory.

Twin 3-1 wins within the third and fourth rounds secured UTRGV’s spot within the semifinals the place they may face UT Dallas in a state derby. 

SLU 12.5 – 3.5 CU

Hoping to neglect their round-seven drubbing by the hands of Mizzou, SLU began cautiously and received their opening spherical by a rating of two.5-1.5.

In ominous indicators, SLU’s GM Nikolas Theodorou was shockingly upset by the untitled Ze Wang, who walked his a-pawn up the board and punished his opponent for taking a laissez-faire strategy to the sport.

CU’s board two, FM Aristo Liu, has performed an essential position in his college’s crew all through the season; nevertheless, within the quarterfinals, he skilled the total power of SLU’s lineup and misplaced every of his video games.

In spherical two, it was GM Batsuren Dambasuren who dished out a stark reminder of why SLU is likely one of the favorites to win the entire match.

Having scored 3.5-0.5 on this spherical, SLU discovered themselves firmly within the field seat with a 6-2 margin and stored the momentum rolling into spherical three. A 3-1 rating consisting of two wins and two attracts was sufficient to get the job achieved for SLU, and sadly Jacobson was unable to crack Bok and mount a comeback after successful an trade for a pawn.

Flexing their borderline impervious squad, SLU rubbed salt into the injuries of CU’s crew within the closing spherical, notching a 3.5-0.5 rating with solely Jacobson capable of maintain out Theodorou. For SLU, the 12.5-3.5 consequence was a welcome return to the shape that had seen them ascend to the highest of the competitors standings early within the season. 

Bok holds his crew to a excessive normal: “We should play higher subsequent week.” 

Their best check but, although, will are available subsequent week’s semifinals, the place a rematch with Mizzou will in the end decide their destiny within the competitors. 

Curiously, each semifinal matchups within the CCL will see groups from the identical states (Texas and Missouri) play in opposition to one another which means {that a} Texas-Missouri grand closing is assured.