NACE Starleague, the largest collegiate esports league in North America, is partnering with Chess.com for the 2022-2023 academic year to bring competitive chess to campuses across the world. The Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 seasons will feature a combined $50,000 prize pool and will give post-secondary students of all skill levels the opportunity to participate and represent their schools in the ultimate chess competition.

 

IMPORTANT NOTICE

All students must complete their LeagueSpot account, the CCL form and Fairplay agreement in order to compete.

All players must create an account and join their team. Team representatives must create and enroll their team(s).

All three above listed items must be completed for a team to be registered. Failure to complete one or more of these items by the registration deadline may result in removal from the competition.

 

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW FOR SPRING 2023

The action kicks off on January 13th with the Spring 2023 Season, where teams will compete in a series of tournaments to earn their share of the $30,000 prize pool. Teams will be separated into Divisions of 16, playing in eight team weekly round robin regional conferences.

The top six teams from each Conference will advance to their Division Playoffs. Each Division will feature a single elimination Playoffs bracket.

 

Spring 2023 Registration

NOW – January 13, 2023

 

 

 

Season Format

Teams of at least four (4) players will need to sign up on LeagueSpot, complete the CCL Google form and sign the FairPlay agreement. Teams will be divided into divisions of 16 teams each based on their average Chess.com rank of their top Four players at the time of registration.

Teams will then proceed to play in weekly round robin regional conferences for the Spring semester. There are two eight team Conferences in each Division.

Twelve teams from each Division will advance to Playoffs and play out a single elimination bracket over four weekends.

 

 

Match Format

Matches will default weekly at 11 AM PT for Group A conferences and 11 AM ET for Group B conferences. Regular season matches may be rescheduled to anytime on or before the last day of the Regular Season (March 18th). Playoff matches may be rescheduled to anytime before, on or on the Sunday immediately after the default date.

• All matches are all-plays-all with 5+2 Time Control.
  • Round 1: B4-A1, B3-A2, A3-B2, A4-B1
  • Round 2: A1-B3, A2-B4, B1-A3, B2-A4
  • Round 3: B2-A1, B1-A2, A3-B4, A4-B3
  • Round 4: A1-B1, A2-B2, B3-A3, B4-A4
• First team to 8.5 points wins the match.
  • If tied 8-8, round 4 is replayed with swapped colors and 3+2
  • If still tied, repeat with 1+2
  • 1+2 tiebreaks are repeated until there’s a decisive result

 

 

Schedule

• Registration Period
  • Monday, November 21, 2022 – Friday, January 13, 2022
• Regular Fall Season
  • January 21: Week one Match
  • January 28: Week two Match
  • February 11: Week three Match
  • February 18: Week four Match
  • February 25: Week five Match
  • March 4: Week six Match
  • March 18: Week seven Match
• Playoffs (Single Elimination)
  • Wildcard Match: Saturday, March 25
  • Quarterfinals: Saturday, April 1
  • Semifinals: Saturday, April 8
  • 3rd Place/Final: Saturday, April 15