This was the first time we hosted the President’s Cup at Mizzou, something I’ve wanted since we started the program in 2019, and honestly, it exceeded expectations.
--GM Ioan-Cristian Chirilă, Head Coach and Program Director
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Mizzou Chess wins 2026 President’s Cup
After two days and three rounds of play, Mizzou Chess Team took home the title of 2026 national collegiate chess champion with 7.5 points out of a possible 12 — adding a second trophy to the team’s 2024 national title.
About Us
Founded in 2019 in partnership with the Saint Louis Chess Club, the Mizzou Chess Team has quickly become one of the nation’s top collegiate programs. Led by Head Coach and Program Director GM Ioan-Cristian Chirilă, the Tigers won the 2024 Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Championship, the 2024 and 2026 President’s Cup national championships, and the Fall 2024 Collegiate Chess League title. Today’s roster brings together grandmasters, international masters and titled women players from around the world, who compete for Mizzou while earning their degrees.
Honors & Achievements
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Team Titles
- 2026 – President’s Cup, U.S. collegiate national champions (hosted at Mizzou)
- Fall 2024 – Collegiate Chess League champions (defeated Saint Louis University in the final)
- 2024 – President’s Cup, U.S. collegiate national champions
- 2024 – Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship, champions (the program’s first Pan-Am title)
- 2022 – U.S. Online Collegiate Blitz Championship, team champions (the program’s first national team title)
- 2019 – World Prestigious University Chess invitational, Tianjin, China: team silver medal
Individual Honors
- 2026 – GM Mahel Boyer, President’s Cup MVP
- 2025 – GM Isik Can, Turkish Champion
- 2023 – GM Luka Budisavljević and WGM Beloslava Krasteva, bronze medals at the World Junior Championships
- 2023 – WGM Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova, U.S. Chess Federation Woman Chessplayer of the Year
- 2022 – GM Mikhail Antipov, U.S. Collegiate Blitz Champion
- 2019 – GM Grigory Oparin (board 1, Best Tournament Performer) and GM Dmitry Gordievsky (board 2), individual gold medals at the World Prestigious University Chess invitational