Join Caltech and MIT alumni chess champions who will compete for school pride before a live Zoom audience to determine the best player from both institutes!

The Caltech Alumni Association and MIT Alumni Association are proud to host our first-ever alumni chess tournament, Match Madness!

In this exciting virtual event, alumni from both institutes will play chess in fast-paced blitz fashion and compete through the bracket to reach the finals. One Caltech alum and one MIT alum will face off in the final match, and the victor will be crowned the greatest alum chess player of two of the world’s best alumni communities!

The tournament will feature a bracket of 4 chess players from Caltech and 4 from MIT, each playing a 10 minute blitz game. After two rounds, the final Caltech player and the final MIT player will face off in the finals, with a livestreamed match, live audience, and color commentary from VIP moderators.

Caltech and MIT alumni are invited and encouraged to register to attend and watch the tournament. The deadline to apply to compete has passed.

Register to Watch

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Competitors

Caltech alumni

Joshua Gutman (BS '06, Computer Science)

Oscar Mickelin (MS '16, Mathematics)

Jones Murphy (MS '91, Physics)

Zach Rivkin (BS '14, Mathematics)

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MIT alumni

Geoffrey Gelman '99, MNG '99

Vasik Rajlich '93

Philip Rosenbach '74

Richard Yi '20

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Zoom Meeting Info

https://caltech.zoom.us/j/81755897196?pwd=dlBlT241TW0wMFFXMmh2aTlMZE4vdz09

Meeting ID: 817 5589 7196

Passcode: Checkmate

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Application Process

1. To register to compete, select the “Apply to Play” checkbox on the registration form.
2. While registering, you must provide your FIDE, USCF, or online chess platform rating to help the Caltech Alumni Association and MIT Alumni Association select players for the tournament.
3. The deadline to apply and play in the tournament is 03/10/2021.
4. During the selection process, 4 players from Caltech and 4 players from MIT will be selected based on the application criteria and notified by email if they are accepted. If you are selected, you must confirm receipt of the email to be officially registered as a competitor.
5. If you are not selected, you will also be notified by email. You are still free to attend and watch the competition.

Tournament Process

1. Before the tournament begins, players must have or create a LiChess.org players account and send their account name to Margot Clifford at margotc@caltech.edu to be added to the tournament.
2. Players will be matched manually by the tournament organizer and invited to play in a match with their competitor via link provided by LiChess.org.
3. All games during the tournament will be streamed via shared screen on Zoom. Commentary will be provided.
4. The tournament will be divided into 2 rounds. The 1st round will determine the Caltech champion and the MIT champion. For each institution, their 4 representatives will go into 2 rounds of head-to-head matches, 1 round elimination to determine the winners from each respective institute. The matches will be 10 minute blitz rounds with standard FIDE chess rules and regulations. No cheating will be tolerated.
5. The 2nd round will be a head-to-head match between the Caltech champion and the MIT champion. This match will also be a 10 minute blitz game. Commentary will be provided.
6. The winner of the match will be crowned champion and the best alumni chess player from Caltech and MIT.

We are grateful for the sponsorship and support of the Caltech and MIT Chess Clubs.