Webster University has discontinued its Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE), a leading U.S. collegiate chess program. Head coach GM Liem Le announced the closure on April 30. Founder Susan Polgar sharply criticized the decision, calling it the poorest handling of a major program she has seen.
GM Liem Le, head coach of Webster University's SPICE program, announced on April 30 that the institute is discontinued. SPICE, founded by GM Susan Polgar in 2007 at Texas Tech and moved to Webster in 2012, produced two world championships, three Olympiad golds, and over 90 national titles, according to Le. The program recently tied a record with its 10th Pan-American Intercollegiate Chess Championship win in January, featuring grandmasters including Awonder Liang, Lazaro Bruzon Batista, Yasser Quesada Perez, Francesco Sonis, Harsha Bharathakoti, and Emilio Cordova Daza. Alumni include top-rated grandmasters like Wesley So, Ray Robson, and Liang himself, who credited SPICE with elevating U.S. chess by bringing international grandmasters stateside for young players to face without overseas travel. Le expressed pride in the program's achievements and gratitude for the opportunity, while committing to support students through the transition. He noted it created opportunities for student-athletes to pursue academics and chess excellence over 14 years. Polgar reacted on Instagram the same day, comparing the closure to Alabama ending football or Duke canceling basketball. She said she received no prior contact from the university and could have launched a fundraising campaign with notice, learning of it only from Le. Webster's Sr. Director of Public Relations Patrick Giblin explained the decision stemmed from costs exceeding $1 million annually, including salaries, bonuses, travel, scholarships, housing, and more, without any endowments raised since 2012. Enrollment at the St. Louis campus halved, worsened by visa restrictions on international students, and the program failed to meet goals for donations or attracting students. Giblin said savings will support financial stability, with the first net-positive revenue in over a decade. Polgar rebutted on May 1, disputing claims on costs, investment, visas, and enrollment, and accused President Dr. Tim Keane of irreparable damage to her reputation, SPICE's legacy, and students.
