Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship

Last updated

The Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship is the foremost intercollegiate team chess championship in the Americas. Hosted in part by the United States Chess Federation, the Pan-Am Intercollegiate is open to any team comprising four players and up to two alternates from the same post-secondary school (university, college, community college) in North America, Central America, South America, or the Caribbean. The Pan-Am began as such in 1946 (there had been earlier versions open to U.S. schools only), and is held annually, usually December 27–30. It has usually been held in the United States, but was hosted in Canada four times (1969, 1971, 1984, 1999). The current format is a six-round fixed-roster team Swiss-system tournament scored by team (not individual) points. Sometimes the Pan Am Intercollegiate is held as part of a larger event called the Pan American Chess Championship comprising the Pan-Am Intercollegiate, Pan-Am Scholastic Team Championship, and Pan-Am Open (for any individual).

Contents

Forty-four teams compete at the 2012 Pan-Am Intercollegiate in Frick Chemistry Lab at Princeton University. 2012 Pan-Am Intercollegiate Chess Championship at Princeton.JPG
Forty-four teams compete at the 2012 Pan-Am Intercollegiate in Frick Chemistry Lab at Princeton University.

Significance

For many years this tournament was, in effect, a national (or continental) championship. For a few years in the 1970s, [1] [2] the Continental Chess Association held a rival intercollegiate tournament, but that was discontinued. The Pan-Am should not be confused with the Campeonato PanAmericano de Ajedrez Universitario (PanAmerican University Chess Championships), which has been held since 2006 by the Confederación De Ajedrez Para America. [3]

Since 2001, a separate invitational team tournament has been held: the top four finishing US schools in the Pan-Am advance to the President's Cup (informally known as the "Final Four of College Chess" and typically held in the first weekend of April), which determines the US National College or University Champion.

Organization and Rules

The governing body for the Pan-Am is the College Chess Committee (CCC) [4] of the United States Chess Federation (USCF). The CCC ratified a set of guidelines for the Pan-Am in 1992, which have been amended by various resolutions of the CCC, most recently in 2017. [5] These rules include stringent eligibility requirements, which were overhauled in 2004. There are also guidelines for conduct of a scholarship program.

College chess does not fall under the authority of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Pan-Am is conducted under USCF rules and is rated both by USCF and FIDE.

At the 2012 Pan-Am, the CCC recommended that all cash prizes at the Pan-Am Intercollegiate be eliminated and forbidden.

For many years prior to 1996, high school teams were allowed to compete in the Pan-Am Intercollegiate, though few did.

History

Started in 1946, the Pan-Am has been held under various names and formats. For some years in the period 1945–1974 there was an individual college championship. Following Bobby Fischer's victory at the 1972 World Championship, the popularity of the Pan-Am temporarily soared. Beginning in the 1990s, the Pan-Am has been dominated by teams from schools offering chess scholarships.

Intercollegiate chess before the Pan Am

Quadrangular Intercollegiate league

The Quadrangular Intercollegiate league—comprising teams from Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University and Princeton University—was formed in 1892, founded by Edward Caswell, Yale class of 1866. The tournament typically took place between Christmas and New Year's Day. Winners from 1892 to 1913 are as follows: Columbia 1892, 1893, 1899, 1902, 1906, 1907, 1910–1912; Harvard 1894–1898, 1903–1905; Yale 1901, 1913; Princeton 1908; tie between Harvard and Yale in 1909. In addition, Harvard and Yale played an annual team match.

During the first decade of the twentieth century, future world champion Jose Raul Capablanca represented Columbia, on first board.

Triangular Intercollegiate league

The Triangular Intercollegiate league—comprising teams from Cornell University, Brown University, and the University of Pennsylvania—was formed in 1899. Champions from 1899 to 1913 are as follows: Pennsylvania 1899, 1904, 1905, 1908, 1909, 1912, 1913; Cornell 1900–1903, 1907, 1910; tie between Pennsylvania and Brown in 1906; tie between Cornell and Pennsylvania in 1911.

In some years, all-star teams from the Quadrangular and Triangular leagues met in a challenge match. [6]

Early years

The Pan-Am started in 1946.

However, there had been a team event for American schools only before World War II. One noteworthy result from this earlier event, from 1931–32, had City College of New York winning, with Reuben Fine on board one and Sidney Norman Bernstein on board two; the team scored 31.5 out of a possible 32 points. [7]

From 1946 to 1964, the Pan-Am Intercollegiate Team Championship was held every even year, with a Pan-Am Intercollegiate Individual Championship held every odd year from 1945 to 1963.

American schools from the northeast and midwest regions dominated both the hosting and winning of the championship. Columbia University won three titles, the University of Chicago won two, and CCNY won two during this period. The first eight tournaments averaged about a dozen teams taking part. From 1962 to 1967, participation doubled to an average of about 25 teams per year.

Annual competition begins

With increased interest, annual team competition began in 1964. In 1965, 1967, and 1969, the tournament was an individual-and-team competition, that is, players entered as individuals, but if a school had four or more players entered, the four highest of its students' scores were added to make a team score. The 1965 event saw the first non-American winner, the University of Toronto. The first non-American school to host was Canada's McGill University at Montreal in 1969, and McGill also won the event that year. From 1968 to 1971, interest doubled again, to nearly 50 teams per year.

The Fischer boom

During the 1960s and 1970s, the level of participation in the Pan-Am grew about tenfold, as one of the effects of Bobby Fischer's chess career, culminating in the World Chess Championship. Attendance averaged nearly 108 teams per year from 1972 to 1978; the highest turnout was 123 teams (520 players) in 1975. Nick Paleveda who became the Florida State Chess Champion persuaded The University of South Florida to offer the first chess scholarship to Future Grandmasters Larry Christiansen and Ron Henley (both recruited with chess scholarships) anchored the 1976 championship team from the University of South Florida Tampa, the first southern school to win.

Three straight titles

The University of Toronto was the first school to win three straight outright titles, from 1980 to 1982; this feat was repeated by Harvard University from 1988–90. Rhode Island College, led by former US High School Chess Champions James Thibault and Sandeep Joshi, rolled to a convincing victory in 1985. The winning 1983 team from Yale University featured 3 future US Chess Champions in Joel Benjamin, Michael Wilder, and Inna Izrailov.

From 1979 to 1986, an average of 57 teams took part. Future US Chess Champion Grandmaster Patrick Wolff led Yale University to victory in 1987. Harvard University won four titles in five years from 1986 to 1990, either won outright or shared.

Prior to 1986 the Pan Ams were organized by the Intercollegiate League of America (ICLA). The United States Chess Federation took over the organization after the 1986 Pan-Am in Providence, Rhode Island.

Kamsky plays in Pan-Am but Vivek Rao shines

Chicago 1991 saw a reigning U.S. champion appear in the Pan-Am for the first time, when 17-year-old Soviet émigré Gata Kamsky, was first board for Brooklyn College. Kamsky lost a sensational game to Vivek Rao of the winning University of Illinois team. Rao had previously led Harvard in winning the 1988, 1989 and 1990 Pan Ams.

Chess Scholarships and Recent Years

The 1990s saw two important events that influenced college chess: the fall of the Iron Curtain sent a flood of very strong eastern European and former Soviet players to the Americas, and several schools began offering major chess scholarships.

The University of South Florida offered chess scholarships in 1976 to two young players, but abandoned the experiment after winning the 1976 Pan-Am. Subsequently, Rhode Island College offered chess scholarships, and eventually won the Pan-Am in 1985. The Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) recruited grandmasters and eventually offered chess scholarships. BMCC won the Pan-Am in 1993, 1994, and 1997. In contrast to those short-lived programs, the chess scholarship programs at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) have taken root and continue to the present day.

In 2009, two more Texas schools fielded strong teams: University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB) and Texas Tech University; both offered chess scholarships. The 2010 Final Four was the strongest to date: it featured UMBC (average USCF rating 2559), UTD (2574), UTB (2598), and Texas Tech (2429). In 2012, Webster University and Lindenwood have emerged as contenders.

The 2019 Pan-Am was the strongest ever: the 63 teams included 33 Grandmasters, 20 International Masters, players from 40 FIDE federations, and 10 teams with average US Chess ratings over 2500. It was the largest Pan-Am from 1982 until 2023. [8]

The 2020–2021 Pan-Am was held online at Lichess.org.

The 2023 Pan-Am was held January 5-8, 2023, in Seattle. It was won by the A team of Webster University. [9]

List of Champions and Venues

University

SchoolWinsYear
Borough of Manhattan Community College 31993, 1994, 1997
Brooklyn College 21962, 1995
City College of New York 21946, 1947
Columbia University 51950, 1952, 1960, 1971, 1984
Fordham University 11954
Harvard University 51975, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 21966, 1970
McGill University 11969
New York University 11995
Rhode Island College 11985
San Jose State University 11964
Texas Tech University 22015, 2019
University of California at Berkeley 31963, 1967, 1989
University of Chicago 61956, 1958, 1968, 1972, 1973, 1986
University of Florida 11979
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign 21991, 2012
University of Maryland, Baltimore County 101996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2012
University of Minnesota 11992
University of Nebraska 11975
University of Pennsylvania 11977
University of South Florida 11976
University of Texas at Austin 21963, 2023 (U1800)
University of Texas at Dallas 102000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley 12015
University of Toronto 61965, 1973, 1974, 1980, 1981, 1982
Webster University 82012, 2013, 2014, 2015 (tie), 2016, 2017, 2018, [10] 2023 [11]
Yale University 31978, 1983, 1987

Cup winners

#YearLocation / OrganizerNumber of TeamsWinning School Team
11946 New York, NY13 City College of New York
21948 New York, NY15 City College of New York
31950 New York, NY16 Columbia University
41952 New York, NY12 Columbia University
51954 New York, NY8 Fordham University
61956 Philadelphia, PA14 University of Chicago
71958 Cleveland, OH10 University of Chicago
81960 Princeton, NJ 13 Columbia University
91962 Philadelphia, PA28 Brooklyn College
101963 Notre Dame, IN28 University of Texas at Austin, University of California at Berkeley
111964 Los Angeles, CA21 San Jose State University
121965 New York, NY27 University of Toronto
131966 State College, PA27 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
141967 Hoboken, NJ24 University of California at Berkeley
151968 Chicago, IL49 University of Chicago
161969 Montreal, QC43 McGill University
171970 Evanston, IL51 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
181971 Toronto, ON55 Columbia University
191972 Columbus, OH108 University of Chicago
201973 Atlanta, GA73 University of Toronto, University of Chicago
211974 Louisville, KY89 University of Toronto
221975 Columbus, OH123 University of Nebraska, Harvard University
231976 New York, NY108 University of South Florida
241977 St. Louis, MO67 University of Pennsylvania
251978 Chicago, IL85 Yale University
261979 Los Angeles, CA42 University of Florida
271980 Atlanta, GA52 University of Toronto
281981 New York, NY71 University of Toronto
291982 Columbus, OH62 University of Toronto
301983 Worcester, MA59 Yale University
311984 Kitchener, ON59 Columbia University
321985 New Brunswick, NJ60 Rhode Island College
331986 Providence, RI53 University of Chicago, Harvard University
341987 Columbus, OH38 Yale University
351988 New Brunswick, NJ36 Harvard University
361989 Salt Lake City, UT19 University of California at Berkeley, Harvard University
371990 Cambridge, MA30 Harvard University
381991 Chicago, IL33 University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
391992 Detroit, MI33 University of Minnesota
401993 DeLand, FL31 Borough of Manhattan Community College
411994 Providence, RI31 Borough of Manhattan Community College
421995 New York, NY36 New York University, Brooklyn College
431996 Baltimore, MD36 University of Maryland, Baltimore County
441997 Bowling Green, KY38 Borough of Manhattan Community College
451998 Dallas, TX20 University of Maryland, Baltimore County
461999 Toronto, ON31 University of Maryland, Baltimore County
472000 Milwaukee, WI21 University of Maryland, Baltimore County, University of Texas at Dallas
482001 Providence, RI29 University of Maryland, Baltimore County, University of Texas at Dallas
492002 Miami, FL30 University of Maryland, Baltimore County – B
502003 Miami, FL30 University of Texas at Dallas
512004 Wichita, KS23 University of Texas at Dallas
522005 Miami, FL27 University of Maryland, Baltimore County
532006 Washington, DC24 University of Texas at Dallas – B, University of Texas at Dallas – A
542007 Miami, FL28 University of Texas at Dallas
552008 Dallas, TX29 University of Maryland, Baltimore County, University of Texas at Dallas – B
562009 South Padre Island, TX28 University of Maryland, Baltimore County
572010 Milwaukee, WI28 University of Texas at Dallas
582011 Fort Worth, TX28 University of Texas at Dallas
592012 Princeton, NJ44 University of Texas at Dallas, Webster University – B, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Webster University – A, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
602013 Lubbock, TX [12] 42 Webster University – A
612014 South Padre Island, TX45 Webster University – A
622015 Cleveland, OH42 Texas Tech – A, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley – A, Webster University – B, Columbia University – A
632016 New Orleans, LA60 Webster University – B, Webster University – A
642017 Columbus, Ohio 58 Webster University – A
652018 Burlingame, California 53 Webster University – A
662019 Charlotte, North Carolina 63 Texas Tech University – A
672020–2021 Chess.com 59 Webster University – A
682022 Dulles, Virginia 57 Saint Louis University – A
692023 Seattle, WA / CEA Open: 47, U1800: 38Open: Webster University – A, U1800: University of Texas at Austin - B
702024 McAllen, TX Open: 40, U1800: 41Open: University of Missouri - A, U1800: University of Southern California - A

Individual winners

#YearWinning Player
11945Kiven Plesset, City College of New York
21947 Robert Byrne, Yale University
31949Paul Dietz, University of Pittsburgh
41951 James Sherwin, Columbia University
51953Albert Weissman, New York University
61955 Edmar Mednis, New York University
71957 Charles Kalme, University of Pennsylvania
81959Leslie Ault, Columbia University
91961Larry Gilden, University of Maryland
101963Henry Davis, University of Texas
111965Marc Yoffie, City College of New York
121966John Meyer, Yale
131967Carl Wagner, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
141969 Camille Coudari, McGill University

Records

As of 2018, University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the University of Texas at Dallas share the record for most wins: each has won (or tied for first place) at the Pan-Am ten times. Webster University has the record for the longest winning streak: seven-years 2012–2018. University of Maryland, Baltimore County holds the most wins at the Final Four: six times (2003–2006, 2009–2010).

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maurice Ashley</span> American chess grandmaster (born 1966)

Maurice Ashley is a Jamaican and American chess player, author, and commentator. In 1999, he earned the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Chess Federation</span> US governing body for chess competition

The United States Chess Federation is the governing body for chess competition in the United States and represents the U.S. in The World Chess Federation (FIDE). USCF administers the official national rating system, awards national titles, sanctions over twenty national championships annually, and publishes two magazines: Chess Life and Chess Life Kids. The USCF was founded and incorporated in Illinois in 1939, from the merger of two older chess organizations. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Its membership as of 2020 as COVID hit was 97,000; as of 2024 the membership was 112,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Truong</span> American-Cambodian chess player (born 1965)

Paul Truong is an American and Cambodian chess player, trainer, and organizer. He was born Trương Hoài Nhân in Saigon, South Vietnam. Truong holds the USCF title of National Master and the FIDE title of FIDE Master.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaan Ehlvest</span> Estonian-American chess grandmaster (born 1962)

Jaan Ehlvest is an Estonian-American chess player. He was awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 1987. Ehlvest was Estonian champion in 1986. Since 2006, he has represented the United States.

The NCAA Men's Tennis Championships are annual tournaments held in the spring to crown team, singles, and doubles champions in American college tennis. The first intercollegiate championship was held in 1883, 23 years before the founding of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), with Harvard's Joseph Clark taking the singles title. The same year Clark partnered to Howard Taylor to win the doubles title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aleksandr Lenderman</span> American chess grandmaster (born 1989)

Aleksandr "Alex" Lenderman is an American chess grandmaster. He won the 2005 World Under-16 Championship in Belfort with a score of 9/10, becoming the first American to win a gold medal at the World Youth Chess Championship since Tal Shaked won the World Junior Championship in 1997.

Albert J. "Al" Lawrence is an American chess expert and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Robson</span> American chess grandmaster (born 1994)

Ray Robson is an American chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 2010. Robson fulfilled the requirements for the title in 2009 at the age of 14 years, 11 months and 16 days, making him the youngest ever United States Grandmaster at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elshan Moradi</span> Iranian-American chess grandmaster (born 1985)

Elshan Moradi Abadi is an Iranian-American chess grandmaster.

Tal Shaked is an American chess grandmaster who is best known for winning the World Junior Championship in 1997.

Arthur William Feuerstein was an American chess master, and winner of the first U.S. Armed Forces Chess Championship in 1960. He represented the United States twice in FIDE Student Olympiads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manuel León Hoyos</span> Mexican chess grandmaster (born 1989)

Manuel León Hoyos is a Mexican chess Grandmaster. He is the first Mexican chess player to break 2600 Elo in the official FIDE rating list with 2603 in October 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Hess (chess player)</span> American chess grandmaster (born 1991)

Robert Lee Hess is an American chess player who received the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM) in 2009. In May 2012, his FIDE rating was 2635, fifth in the United States. Hess is a commentator for Chess.com, covering events such as the World Chess Championship and Candidates Tournament. He also streams chess content on his Twitch channel GMHess, which has 73,000+ followers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Polgar</span> Hungarian chess grandmaster (born 1969)

Susan Polgar is a Hungarian-American chess grandmaster. Polgár was Women's World Chess Champion from 1996 to 1999. On FIDE's Elo rating system list of July 1984, at the age of 15, she became the top-ranked female chess player in the world. In 1991, she became the third woman to be awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE. She won eleven medals at the Women's Chess Olympiad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President's Cup (chess)</span>

The President's Cup 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 points. The President's Cup usually takes place in early Spring.

Rochelle Ballantyne is an American chess player. She is best known for appearing in the 2012 documentary Brooklyn Castle. Her USCF rating is 1988, putting her in the 99th percentile of American junior players. Her FIDE rating is 1912, with her highest rating achieved being 1954 in January 2012. According to the USCF's rating system, she is currently an "Expert" or "Candidate Master."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akshat Chandra</span> American chess grandmaster (born 1999)

Akshat Chandra is an American chess player. He started playing Chess during a visit to India in 2009 when he was nine years old. In 2015, he won the US National K-12 Championship and was also the US Junior Champion, the first time both titles were held by the same person in a single year. He earned the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM) in March 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Rosen (chess player)</span> American chess player

Eric Rosen is an American chess player. He was awarded the FIDE Master title in 2011 and the International Master title in 2015. Rosen began playing chess as a child with his father and brother and became the United States Chess Federation (USCF) K12 national champion in 2011. While attending the University of Illinois, Rosen was on the chess team that secured a spot at the President's Cup in 2013 and 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justus Williams</span> American chess player

Justus D. Williams is an American chess player who holds the title of International Master (IM).

Aaron Grabinsky is an American chess player.

References

  1. "Chess Life, Here and There", Chess Life, p. 146, March 1973
  2. "Chess Club Ties City College; Frankle Wins Singles Crown", Harvard Crimson, November 28, 1972, retrieved April 15, 2016
  3. "Daniela De la Parra Wins 2013 Campeonato PanAmericano Universitario" . Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  4. "College Chess" . Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  5. "Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championships: Official Tournament Rules" (PDF). Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  6. "American chess bulletin. v.11 (1914)".
  7. The Bobby Fischer I Knew And Other Stories, by Arnold Denker and Larry Parr, San Francisco 1995, Hypermodern Press.
  8. "Pan-American Intercollegiate Championship".
  9. Linville (raync910), Ray (8 January 2023). "Webster Team A Wins 2023 Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship". Chess.com. Retrieved 2023-01-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. "Results are in at the Pan-Am Chess Champs! - US Chess". Archived from the original on 2019-01-09.
  11. Linville (raync910), Ray (8 January 2023). "Webster Team A Wins 2023 Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship". Chess.com. Retrieved 2023-01-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. "First Time Hosting". Texas Tech University. December 25, 2013.

Bibliography