Established in 1946, the Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship (Pan-Am) is for college chess teams from North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. The top four U.S. schools from the Pan-Am qualify for the President’s Cup, which since 2001 has determined the top U.S. chess college.
The 2026 Pan-Am was held January 2–5 in Oak Brook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Webster University, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, the University of Missouri, and Saint Louis University finished first, second, third, and fourth (respectively) in the Open section.
A comprehensive report on the 2026 Pan-Am, by JJ Lang, was published January 12 on Chess Life Online. For this article, photos of the teams have been extracted from zefcatt’s Twitch stream.
The Show-Me State
Missouri’s sobriquet is the “Show-Me” State, with that nickname perhaps originating from Missouri miners having to be shown, in Leadville, Colorado, in the 1890s, methods for extracting precious metals. Regarding chess at the 2026 Pan-Am, Missouri showed other states how the game is played.
And perhaps Missouri will show where to play chess too. Three of the four qualifiers for the 2026 President’s Cup are from Missouri, so it’s likely that the event will be held in the Show-Me State. Of the Missouri qualifiers, Webster University and Saint Louis University are in the St. Louis metro area. Perhaps the President’s Cup will be held in the newly renovated Saint Louis Chess Club.
Dates and Times
Although the Pan-Am used to be held between Christmas and New Year’s Day, in recent years it has occurred at the start of January. For both the Pan-Am and the President’s Cup, the time control is Game in 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move (90m + 30s). Each competition features teams of four players, with up to two alternates per team.
The President’s Cup is usually held on the same weekend as the NCAA men’s basketball Final Four. This year’s Pan-Am organizer, Chess Weekend, called the upcoming President’s Cup “the 2026 Final Four College Chess Championship.”
Among the World’s Best
Among active players, GM Awonder Liang is ranked 26th in the world. He played first board for Webster at the 2026 Pan-Am. His opponent in round 5, GM Gleb Dudin, is ranked 173rd among active players and recently won the Hungarian Championship. Dudin plays first board for The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). Webster won its match with UTRGV 3–1, including this win by Liang.
