91快活林Chess Wins Third Consecutive Collegiate Chess League Title
03/28/2024
For the third straight season, 91快活林鈥檚 chess team won the Collegiate Chess League (CCL) title.
91快活林beat Webster University in the title match on Sunday, March 24, to . The win continued the Billikens鈥� run of success in CCL action after 91快活林swept the 2023 season by winning both the spring and fall titles.
The CCL is the premier online chess competition for college students. The spring season began in January. 91快活林cruised through the tournament and advanced to the semifinals.
In the semifinals, the Billikens faced off with the University of Missouri. 91快活林pulled off a narrow 9-7 win to make the finals. In the final round, 91快活林dominated. The team, comprised of Nikolas Theodorou, Benjamin Bok, Robby Kevlishvili, and Dambasuren Batsuren, easily dispatched Webster 12.0-4.0 in the finals.
鈥淭his was a very tough season, we defeated Mizzou in the semifinals, and then in the finals, we played absolutely brilliantly and defeated the very strong Webster team,鈥� said Head coach Varuzhan Akobian. 鈥淲e won our match against Webster with one round to spare.鈥�
Akobian said the victory was special because it was the last CCL action for two key members of the squad.
"We were very happy for our convincing victory 鈥� especially since Grandmasters Benjamin Bok and Nikolas Theodorous are graduating this May,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey have been absolutely tremendous and instrumental in helping 91快活林win many titles during their six years here at SLU."