Rio Grand Valley Edges Lviv State University In Tense Match: CCL Week 7

In week seven of the Collegiate Chess League Spring 2025 (CCL), two strong teams fought for a shot at the league playoffs. The University of the Texas Rio Grande Valley (TRGV) narrowly held off Lviv State University of Physical Culture by a score of 9-7. 

The CCL continues with week eight on Saturday, March 15, at 2 p.m. ET/20:00 CET/0:30 a.m. (Sunday) IST.

Collegiate Chess League Division 1 — Spring 2025 Week 7 Standings

TRGV Pushes Past Lviv State 9-7

TRGV is a historically strong team in the CCL but has had a difficult season so far. They are led by GMs GM Jose Cardoso and GM Gleb Dudin, followed by IMs Ekin Baris Ozenir and Jakub Fus. Lviv has two powerful GMs as well,  Igor Kovalenko and Martyn Kravtsiv. Their relative weakness is that their third and fourth boards are talented but untitled players, Svyatoslav Voloshchuk and Rotislav Goncharenko.

Lviv's top-heavy lineup meant they needed to rely heavily on their two GMs. Kravtsiv took care of business, leading the team with a perfect 4-0 score! Kovalenko, however, had a more up-and-down match. He had a slip out of the gate as he fell in the very first round to a great game by Ozenir. 

Thanks to that game, TRGV took a 3-1 lead after the first round. After that, Lviv stabilized the match, and Kovalenko struck back with a powerful attacking game against Fus. It had a striking similarity to Budisavljevic's featured win in last week's match.

Surprisingly, the two-point lead for TRGV held up perfectly throughout the next couple of rounds. Lviv's GMs won their games in rounds two and three, while their bottom boards couldn't handle their titled opponents. The only twist occurred in the final round when Voloshchuk scored an upset against Fus. That gave Lviv a chance to come back, but Kovalenko, needing to win, lost control of a wild game against Dudin. So, after three straight even rounds, the initial round-one edge for TRGV decided the match.

You can check out this match and a battle between Georgia Tech vs. Texas A&M here.

The live broadcast was hosted by GM Benjamin Bok and JulesGambit.

The Collegiate Chess League is the premier online chess competition for college students. The 2024 CCL Fall Season is a team event starting September 28 at 2 p.m. ET/20:00 CET/0:30 a.m. IST and featuring a $25,000 prize fund. 

Previous coverage:

• Week 6: SLU Defeats Mizzou To Remain Unbeaten
• Week 5: SLU Handles Yale
• Week 4: Mizzou Sweeps First Round On Way To Victory: CCL Week 4
• Week 3: Saint Louis Wins Clash Of Leaders To Reach 3/3
• Week 2: Saint Louis Leads With SRM On 2/2, Athens Scores 1st Win
• Week 1: Missouri Settles the Score vs. Virginia, SLU Inches Ahead of Athens
• Collegiate Chess League Spring 2025 Registration