In just a few weeks, PRO Chess League action will be heating up as the PRO Chess League Summer Series start on June 1. Fans of 16 PCL teams will join top chess professionals as they head to battle in a series of live club matches to determine the champions of the series, broadcast live on Twitch.tv/PROChessLeague.
Across Live Club Matches, Knockout Battles, and the Summer Series championship, each of the 16 invited teams will compete for its share of a $25,000 prize fund.
Buoyed by strong days from their top and bottom boards, the Saint Louis Arch Bishops captured another PRO Chess League title by easily defeating the Baden-Baden Snowballs, 10-6.
It was the largest margin of victory in any of the four matches this weekend at the Folsom Foundry in San Francisco, and it means the team's second league title in three years of existence.
There is indeed a "Snowballs chance" of winning a PRO Chess League championship, but will have to go through some Arches.
After the Baden-Baden Snowballs took out the Chengdu Pandas in overtime in the first of the 2019 PRO Chess League semifinals, GM Fabiano Caruana went 4-0 to also lead his Saint Louis Arch Bishops into the finals. They beat the defending champion Armenia Eagles.
The PRO Chess League Finals are just days away, with action beginning Saturday, May 4 and a champion crowned on Sunday, May 5.
Once again, the Folsom Street Foundry in San Francisco will host the live event.
In this preview we'll take a look at the teams that made it to the final four and the lineups they will use.
With Baden-Baden and Armenia both winning today, four teams have booked their ticket to the live PRO Chess League Semifinals in San Francisco this May. The Snowballs and the Eagles join Saint Louis and Chengdu in qualifying for the event.
With Tuesday's action coming to a close, the results mean that three of the four contestants will be returning to the semifinals, as Ljubljana was relegated during regular season play. The semifinals will see a rematch between Saint Louis and Armenia, as Chengdu will take on newcomer Baden-Baden.
Two teams booked their tickets to the live PRO Chess League final four in San Francisco on Tuesday, as Saint Louis and Chengdu emerged victorious from their respective quarterfinals match-ups.
The two PRO Chess League powerhouses will have to wait one more week before knowing their semifinals pairings, as the Arch Bishops will face the winner of the Eastern Division quarterfinal, and Chengdu will take on the Central Division quarterfinal winner in May.
The first week of the 2019 PRO Chess League Playoffs saw eight teams progress to the quarterfinals, where they will each vie for a coveted spot in the live PRO Chess League Final in San Francisco this May.
Their progression means that the PRO Chess League season came to an end for teams like the New York Marshalls, Dallas Destiny, and the Amsterdam Mosquitoes.
With the final week of the 2019 PRO Chess League regular season complete, the playoff picture is set as 16 teams saw their season come to an end. Notable omissions include the Montreal Chessbrahs and the San Jose Hackers, as both teams did not perform well enough in the Battle Royale to progress to the knockout.
Not much time is left for teams to make late-season statements in the PRO Chess League. With only the Battle Royale remaining, some teams seem destined for postseason action, while many are still looking for clarity.
Top teams like Saint Louis, Webster, and Dallas struggled, while rivals Chengdu, Armenia, and Tbilisi continued to dominate.
In one of the most memorable weeks in PRO Chess League history, fans were treated to close matches from every division. After week eight's standings shake-up, Saint Louis finds itself back on top of the Atlantic, playoff pictures are now wide open in the Pacific and Central Divisions, and Tbilisi and Armenia are still locked in a battle for top seed in the Eastern Division.
The Dallas Destiny scored a league-high 20 points in PRO Chess League Battles Royale as several teams such as the Miami Champions made big strides forward in the league standings with strong performances. Other favorites such as the Montreal Chessbrahs faltered and lost ground in the increasingly tense playoff race.
With many late-stage comebacks across the PRO Chess League, fans will remember everything that week 6 had to offer—the New York Marshalls' incredible win over Webster, Cannes' upset over the Baden-Baden Snowballs, and Estonia just missing out on the upset of the year.
PRO Chess Teams score big in Week 5 | The Mumbai Movers won one of the most exciting matches of the week as the PRO Chess League's two Indian teams clashed.
Week 4: Gentlemen Dominate As Battle Royales Shake Up PRO Chess | The PRO Chess League debuted its new Battle Royale format in week four. The different format and large number of points available significantly shook up the standings in most divisions.
Chessbrahs Defeat Arch Bishops In Epic PRO Chess Week 3 | Week three of the 2019 PRO Chess League season featured probably the biggest regular season match in the league's history as the Montreal Chessbrahs and the Saint Louis Arch Bishops played back and forth match full of surprises, upsets, and post-season implications.
Saric Still Perfect In PRO Chess Week Two | After two weeks, only one player, GM Ivan Saric, has a perfect 8/8 score in the PRO Chess League. His dominant performance (as well as GM Eric Hansen's) have made the Montreal Chessbrahs look like one of the teams to beat early in the PRO Chess League season.
Caruana, So Lead Arch Bishops In PRO Chess Week 1 | The 2019 season of the PRO Chess League started strong with thrilling, competitive matchups and zero drawn matches. Only two teams, the Saint Louis Arch Bishops and the Montreal Chessbrahs, scored more than 10 points.
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