Out in Beinecke Plaza recently, under a bright sun and the intent stares of more than 100 people, you could cut the tension with a knight. Or a hanging rook.
After two weekends of strategic gambits, defensive feints, and go-for-broke blitzing, a four-player team from Berkeley College survived a late surge by the squad from Timothy Dwight to claim victory in the inaugural Yale Chess Cup tournament.
"One move left … and it's made!" shouted special guest Levy "GothamChess" Rozman, the highly popular chess influencer who provided color commentary for the final matches. "Berkeley wins three to one! Three to one!"
The April 24 final capped a full slate of tournament events organized by Yale sophomore Arthur Guo (himself a certified chess grandmaster) and Trumbull College. The weekend before, teams from each residential college gathered in the Trumbull College dining hall to vie for a spot in the finals (thanks, in part, to the efforts of Kory Evasick, the dining hall's general manager).
