KCF University Cup Winners Train with Kasparov

Please see excerpts from an article originally published by ChessBase.

Meeting a childhood hero

By GM Bartlomiej Macieja, UTRGV Chess Coach

Garry Kasparov is an undisputed legend of chess. Who has not heard of his intense world championship duels vs Anatoly Karpov in the 80s, or spectacular games and tournament achievements in the 90s? No wonder, chess enthusiasts all over the world dream about meeting, shaking hands, training and having a conversation with the legendary world champion.

Every year, the winning team of the top two sections of the Kasparov Chess Foundation University Cup receives an invitation for a training session with the legendary world champion. This is what makes the online team tournament of university students so attractive.

In the fourth edition of the Kasparov Chess Foundation University Cup, 494 students representing 117 universities of 25 countries from 6 continents fought hard to make their dream come true. No wonder that the Kasparov Chess Foundation University Cup is often viewed as an unofficial world university championship.

The tournament was held on the lichess.org platform. The Chief Arbiter was IA/IO Grant Oen, and the Technical Director was Chacha Nugroho.

This year, IM Kostya Kavutskiy was in charge of live commentaries. On the second day, he was joined by GM Alexander Lenderman. It is worth mentioning that none other than Garry Kasparov joined the commentary studio for half an hour. Therefore, it was a unique opportunity for university students to have their games analysed by the legend!


Garry Kasparov, a chess legend revered worldwide, continues to inspire new generations through the Kasparov Chess Foundation University Cup. This unique online tournament offers university teams the chance to earn a coveted reward: a training session with Kasparov himself. In its fourth edition, 494 students from 117 universities across six continents competed fiercely online. The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley triumphed, securing their dream session with the former world champion.

To read the full article, visit ChessBase.

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