Post date: March 23, 2026

The Mizzou Chess Team is the 2026 national collegiate champion. Competing at the President’s Cup, known as the “Final Four” of college chess and hosted at Mizzou for the first time, the Tigers scored 7.5 points out of a possible 12. Mizzou beat the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley 3.5–0.5 and Saint Louis University 2.5–1.5, and despite a narrow 1.5–2.5 loss to Webster University, the cumulative score secured the title. It is the program’s second national championship, after its 2024 President’s Cup win.

Grandmaster Mahel Boyer, a personal financial planning major, was the team’s MVP with two wins and a draw. “His teammates Aryan, Isik, and Luka all contributed when it mattered, but Mahel’s performance stood out,” said head coach and program director GM Ioan-Cristian Chirilă. “He played with real composure and was the difference maker.”

Mizzou also hosted the inaugural Women’s President’s Cup, won by Saint Louis University. Woman International Masters Annmarie Muetsch and Tea Gueci provided live play-by-play commentary on the event livestream, broadcast by the Saint Louis Chess Club.

“This was the first time we hosted the President’s Cup at Mizzou, something I’ve wanted since we started the program in 2019,” Chirilă said, “and honestly, it exceeded expectations.”