Webster University Team Members are U.S. Open Chess Champs

Webster University is pleased to announce that the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) team members are the winners of the U.S. Open Blitz Championship as well as the U.S. Open G/15 Championship, both sponsored by the U.S. Chess Federation and held in Indianapolis.

The U.S. Open Blitz Championship Winner is Webster University Grand Master Illia Nyzhnyk, the youngest SPICE Grandmaster. Webster University GM Vasif Durarbayli won 2nd place in the field of 106 competitors from around the country.

The U.S. Open G/15 Championship Winner is Webster University GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez. Twenty-three players competed.

Not only do SPICE players continue to dominate the college chess scene over the past four years, but they also win world-class professional tournaments.

Since Webster University started the SPICE chess program in August 2012, students have won two World Championships, four World Open Championships, 38 National Titles and many other major titles. Webster students have won more major titles during the past four years than all other collegiate chess programs in the U.S. combined.

About Webster University: With its home campus in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, Webster University (www.webster.edu) comprises an action-oriented global network of faculty, staff, students and alumni who forge powerful bonds with each other and with their communities around the globe. Founded in 1915, Webster is a private non-profit university with more than 17,000 students studying at campus locations in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa and in a robust learning environment online. The university is committed to delivering high-quality learning experiences that transform students for global citizenship and individual excellence.