The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) secured its first Collegiate Chess League (CCL) title in the spring 2026 season, defeating SRM Institute of Science and Technology 9.5-6.5 in the finals. After losing the fall 2025 finals to St. Louis University, UTD delivered a strong team performance with all players scoring between 1.5 and 3 points.
UTD bounced back from a narrow 8.5-7.5 finals loss to St. Louis University (SLU) in fall 2025. SRM reached the spring 2026 finals by beating the defending champions SLU in the semifinals. The online match unfolded over four rounds, with UTD rallying after an early deficit, according to Chess.com coverage hosted by Joe Lee. The first round went to SRM 2.5-1.5, highlighted by GM Pranesh M's win over GM Koustav Chatterjee. UTD evened the score in round two at 2.5-1.5, as GM Gergely Kantor scored and Chatterjee bounced back with a win. In round three, UTD pulled ahead 3-1, with wins from Kantor and GM Yair Parkhov, who triumphed in a sharp Sicilian with black. The fourth round sealed the victory for UTD 2.5-1.5, as GM Aditya Samant escaped early trouble to win an endgame. GM Gergely Kantor reflected afterward, expressing regret over a missed chance in his final game but stating, 'I think we deserved this victory.' He added confidently, 'probably we will be right back next semester.' The CCL remains the top online chess league for college students.
