Harvard–Yale chess match

The Harvard–Yale chess match is held annually around the time of the Harvard–Yale football game in November on the campus of the university hosting the football game. The tradition dates as far back as 1900.[1] It is a relatively informal match and the schools do not typically submit the games to the United States Chess Federation for rating. Nevertheless, it is one of the highlights of the year for each school's chess club. The match typically consists of four or five games, pitting the top current Harvard and Yale students (undergraduate or graduate). The team with the most game points is declared the winner of the match, with a win worth 1 point, a draw worth half a point, and a loss worth 0 points. In the case of a tie, either the match is declared a tie, or a tie-breaking procedure is applied. Tie-breaking procedures applied in the past included using the result of the strongest non-drawing board as the result of the match, or using results achieved by non-A-teams in the Open section. Match details vary each year depending on the preferences of current members of each school's chess club.

Those who play in the match are typically strong tournament players. The ratings usually range from around 800 to 2600 USCF. Players occasionally are FIDE International Masters or grandmasters.

As of 2023, the champion is Yale, with the overall record tied at 9-4-9.

Results

Year Site Match format Tie-break Winner Score Average USCF ratings
Harvard Yale
2023 Yale 4 boards, G25/D5 Additional boards Yale 1F-0F 2415 2351
2022 Harvard 4 boards, G25/D5 Additional boards Yale 2½–1½ 2407 2396
2021 Yale 4 boards, 2x None Yale 6–2 2257 2384
2020 Harvard Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2019 Yale 3 boards, 2x G/30 None Yale 5½–½
2018 Harvard 5 boards, G/30 None Harvard 4–1
2017 Yale 5 boards, G/30 None Tie 2½–2½
2016 Harvard 5 boards, G/30 None Harvard 5–0 2328
2015 Yale 5 boards, G/45 None Harvard 4–1
2014 Harvard 5 boards, G/45 6th board Harvard 3–2 2162 2031
2013 Yale 5 boards, G/60 Yale 3–2 2069 2200
2012 Harvard 5 boards, G/60 Additional boards Tie 2½–2½ 2211
2011[2] Yale 5 boards, G/60 Additional boards Yale 3–2 2119 2258
2010 Harvard 5 boards, G/60 Harvard 3–2
2009 Yale 5 boards, G/60 Harvard 3–2
2008 [3] Harvard 5 boards, G/45 None Harvard 4–1 2186 2079
2007 Yale Tie
2006 Harvard Harvard 3–2
2005 [4] Yale 5 boards, G/60 Non-draw result on strongest board Yale 3–2 2083 2092
2004 [5] Harvard 4 boards, G/60 None Tie 2–2 2118 2225
2003
2002
2001[6] Yale
2000[7] Harvard 2066
1999 Yale

Lineups

2011 [2]

  • Harvard: Jake Miller, Bram Louis, Josh Bakker, Naor Brown, Tony Blum
  • Yale: Robert Hess, Bogdan Vioreanu, Patrick O’Keefe, Adam Weser, Gordon Moseley

2008 [3]

  • Yale: Bogdan Vioreanu, Kurt Schneider, Pasha Kamyshev, Gordon Moseley, Rahil Esmail

2005 [4]

  • Yale: David Wang, Matthew Traldi, Pavel Kamyshev, Scott Caplan, David Lyons
  • Harvard: Arin Madenci, Dan Thomas, Danny Goodman, Albert Yeh, Annie Weiss

2004 [5]

  • Harvard: Geoffrey Gelman, Daniel H. Thomas, Arin Madenci, Annie Weiss
  • Yale: Akira Watanabe, Matthew Traldi, Haoyuan Wang, Scott Caplan

2001 [6]

  • Harvard: Daniel H. Thomas, Marc R. Esserman, Victor M. Lee, Yue Wu, Lu Yin, Jason Rihel, Noam Elkies

2000 [7]

  • Harvard: Yakov Chudnovsky, Jonathan A. Wolff, Charles R. Riordan, Lu Yin

Notable players who have competed in the match

FIDE Grandmasters

FIDE International Masters

  • Richard Wang (Harvard: 2016)
  • Matthew Larson (Yale: 2015, IM title earned in 2018)
  • Bogdan Vioreanu (Yale: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
  • Marc Esserman (Harvard: 2001, IM title earned in 2009)
  • Teddy Coleman (Harvard: 2008, 2009, 2010, IM title earned in 2012)

Other

Games

References

  1. ^ "Chess Match with Yale". The Harvard Crimson. 1900-11-16. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  2. ^ a b "Chess Club News: Yale Beats Harvard! – Chess Horizons Article from MACA". Masschess.org. Retrieved 2015-05-05.
  3. ^ a b "THE GAME | Rivalry on the chess board". Yale Daily News. 2008-11-21. Retrieved 2015-05-05.
  4. ^ a b "Yale Defeats Harvard". Connecticut State Chess Association. 2005-11-22. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  5. ^ a b "USCF MSA - Cross Table for HARVARD-YALE ANNUAL CHESS MATCH (Event 200411206740)". Uschess.org. Retrieved 2015-05-05.
  6. ^ a b Hsieh, Tiffany I. (2001-11-19). "Harvard Loses Chess Title to Yale | News | The Harvard Crimson". Thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2015-05-05.
  7. ^ a b Lalley, Adam M. (2000-11-22). "Harvard Triumphs Over Yale in Weekend Chess Match | News | The Harvard Crimson". Thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2015-05-05.