Registrations For The Collegiate Chess League Summer 2025 Season Are Now Open
We're excited to announce the fourth Summer season of the Collegiate Chess League (CCL) presented by Susquehanna, one of the world's leading quantitative trading firms.
In this edition, college students will battle it out in bullet and team chess competitions. The season will last four weeks, kicking it off with the bullet championship qualifiers on July 12 and ending with the finals on July 19. The college team chess battle championship will start on July 26 and end the following week on August 2.
We'll also host a Weekly Prize Arena every Thursday at 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET. You can watch the matches live on our Twitch and YouTube channels with hosts Joe Lee, Zach Hage, and other invited commentators.
Colleges from all over the world can participate and compete for prizes each week, with the top 10 schools participating in the College Ambassador Program receiving diamond memberships.
Unlike last summer, the CCL will not be hosting a Bughouse championship. Instead, we encourage all college players to join the Chess.com Bughouse Chess Championship in July. Stay tuned for more details!
We'll open registration for the 2025-2026 season in August, and more details on the upcoming season will be announced in our partnership with PlayVS, the largest collegiate esports league in North America.
Here's everything you need to know about the Collegiate Chess League 2025 Summer Season:
Format
Bullet Championship
Qualifiers
- Players will play in a 60-minute 1+0 score-based arena tournament.
- The result standings from this tournament will be used to determine the divisions, with eight players in each division.
Playoffs
- Each division of eight players will be put into a double-elimination bracket.
- A match between two players is a best-of-12 in the 1+0 time control, with the first to score 6.5 points winning.
- If both players tie at 6 points, the next player to win a game wins the match.
- If the Grand Final match needs a reset, it'll be a best-of-eight game match.
Team Chess Battle Championship
Playoffs
- Each team consists of two players from the same school.
- Teams are split into divisions of eight teams, each based on average rapid rating.
- Players must have played at least 25 rated rapid games at the time of registration.
- Each division competes in a single-elimination bracket.
- Quarterfinals and semifinals matches are two games with a 10+2 time control.
- Tiebreak is 3+2 time control, and if still tied, teams will play 1+2 until one team wins.
- The final match is two games with a 10+10 time control.
- The tiebreak is a game with a 5+2 time control, and if still tied, teams will play 3+2 games until one team wins.
- The higher-seeded team starts with White.
- Players in a team can communicate during the game, with the lower-rated player controlling the pieces.
Schedule
Bullet Championship
- Registration: Closes July 11 at 10 p.m. PT / 1 a.m. ET (+1)
- Qualifier: July 12 at 11 a.m. PT / 2 p.m. ET
- Playoffs: July 19 at 11 a.m. PT / 2 p.m. ET
Team Chess Battle Championship
- Registration: Closes July 25 at 10 p.m. PT / 1 a.m. ET (+1)
- Quarterfinals and semifinals: July 26 at 11 a.m. PT / 2 p.m. ET
- Finals: August 2 at 11 a.m. PT / 2 p.m. ET
Weekly Prize Arenas
- Thursdays (July 10 - August 7) at 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET
Prizes
Players competing in the bullet and team battle playoffs will have a chance to win premium Chess.com memberships. College chess clubs that are part of the College Ambassador Program are also eligible to receive extra memberships just for qualifying.
Registration
Registration for each event is now open, and you can fill them out below.
For the team chess battle registration form, make sure you register with a partner. They will also need to fill out the registration form.
For the Weekly Prize Arenas, make sure your school is part of our College Ambassador Program. You can ask a club leader to apply for the program if you're not a part of it yet.
Learn more about the details of the 2025 Summer Season, including prizes and rules, on the event's official page.
Be sure to join our bullet club page once you register, and join our Discord server to keep up with all our announcements. For any questions regarding the CCL or College Ambassador Program, please reach out to League's Commissioner Joe Lee at ccl@chess.com or on Discord at joebruin96.
Susquehanna's recruiting season is around the corner! Get a head start by dropping your resume HERE for upcoming internship opportunities.
Susquehanna is a global quantitative trading firm founded by a group of friends who share a passion for game theory and probabilistic thinking. This approach is integral to our culture, where you will find relentless problem solvers within each of our core disciplines: Trading, Technology, and Quantitative Research. From offices around the world, our employees collaborate to make optimal decisions and are driven by the desire to achieve winning results together. Learn how you can use gaming skills in your career at sig.com/chess.
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