The 2024 Collegiate Chess League (CCL) playoffs are upon us, and you can join in on the excitement by predicting who wins!
Can Saint Louis defend their championship title for the fourth time in a row, or will SRM IST from India win it all in their debut season? Is now the chance for Mizzou or Texas to win, or will an underdog prevail and emerge victorious? Submit your prediction brackets to earn your title as the prophet, cheer on your team, and earn ultimate bragging rights and prizes!
As the proud sponsor of the 2024 Collegiate Chess League, Susquehanna has once again teamed up with Chess.com to present the Fall CCL Bracket Predictions Challenge. The bracket prediction winner in each of the 28 divisions will receive six months of Chess.com diamond membership courtesy of Chess.com and Susquehanna!
To enter, submit your predictions by Saturday, November 16, 2024, at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET / 11:30 p.m. IST.
How To Participate
Click the button above for the Fall 2024 Prediction Brackets. Each division has its own bracket. You can make predictions for as many divisions as you’d like, but you cannot win prizes in more than one bracket. Fill out all 28 for your best chance to win!
Make sure to include your email in your entry so we can ensure you receive your prize if you submit one of the victorious brackets.
Then, sit back and watch your favorite teams duke it out in the playoffs―knowing that each of their wins brings you closer to a chance to win six months of Chess.com diamond membership!
Winners will be notified by email at the email address provided the week of December 2.*
* One winner per bracket. No purchase is necessary to participate or win. Prizes cannot be transferred or redeemed for cash. Participants may not win more than one bracket. Void where prohibited.
Teams: Division 1
Reigning Champions: Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University is the defending champion and is going for their fourth championship in a row. However, they finished in fourth place in the regular season. This struggling team is still finding a new identity after their top two boards, GMs Benjamin Bok and Nikolas Theodorou, graduated last season. Despite finishing in fourth, they still have GMs Robby Kevlishvili and Dambasuren Batsuren and can get hot at the right time in the playoffs to defend their championship title.
India College Chess Champions: SRM Institute of Science and Technology
India is making a big splash in the chess world at all levels of play, including here at the collegiate level. In the inaugural India College Chess Championship, this SRM team swept the competition 9-0 en route to winning the championship and is looking to do the same in India’s debut in the CCL’s top division. With GMs like Pranesh M and Arjun Kalyan, it’s no surprise they’ve already won the regular season, earning them a number-one seed in the playoff bracket. However, they did lose their perfect streak at the hands of the University of Missouri.
2024 Pan-American Champions: University of Missouri
Missouri won their first-ever Pan-American Championship back in January but fell to third place in CCL’s Spring season behind SLU and Webster. Although they didn’t make a top spot this regular season, they were the only team able to defeat SRM. Their top board, GM Grigoriy Oparin, graduated last year, but this Mizzou team is still stacked thanks to their recruitment of GM Aryan Tari, who is pursuing a business degree. GM Mikhail Antipov is also a veteran presence on the team and is looking to lead them to their second team CCL championship title.
Spring 2022 Champions: University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley
Still searching for their second title, Rio Grande earned their spot in the semifinals by getting second place only behind SRM in the regular season. Led by GMs Gleb Dudin and Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux, they’ll have as good a shot as any team to go deep in the playoffs.
National Technical University of Athens
Led by IM Dmitris Alexakis, Athens made it back to the playoffs for the second time in their second season. Last season, they came just half a point shy of coming back against UT Rio Grande Valley in the quarterfinals. Can they go further this season?
Yale University
Led by GM Nicolas Checa, Yale secured the last of the playoff qualification spots. They’ve added another grandmaster to their lineup since last season, Arthur Guo, who helped them make it back to division 1 and is looking to make a splash in the playoffs.
For all standings and results for Division 1, see our events page.
Division 2
In group A, Rice University won the regular season with a 6-1 record, but keep an eye on UCLA, which got second and managed to give Rice its only loss. In group B, Shri Ram College of Commerce from India won the regular season on tiebreaks just ahead of Universitas Brawijaya from Indonesia.
Division 3
In group A, the University of British Columbia stands alone at the top with a 6-1 record, but group B saw Lviv State University of Physical Culture from Ukraine sweep their competition 7-0. Can they continue their winning streak and win it all in the playoffs?
For all standings and results for Divisions 2-3, see the Playfly platform.
Divisions 4-28
Standings and results for Divisions 4-28 are available here.
The Collegiate Chess League (CCL) is the premier online chess competition for college students. It is a team event with an all-play-all blitz format, featuring a $25,000 prize fund thanks to tournament sponsor Susquehanna. The Fall playoffs begin on November 16 at 11 a.m. PT/ 2 p.m. ET/ 12:30 a.m. IST.
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