The last two league champions, Saint Louis University (SLU) and the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), are the two undefeated teams after two matches each in the 2026 fall season of the Collegiate Chess League. SLU has dominated both matches that it has played, defeating the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). Meanwhile, UTD had a narrow victory against the SRM Institute of Science and Technology and a convincing win against UTRGV. 

CCL Division 1 Standings

SLU Keeps Dominant Record

SLU has played just two matches in the fall season so far, and hasn't been challenged, winning with a combined score of 28.5/32. Its most recent match against UMBC saw the team sweep the final three rounds to finish with a 13.5-2.5 victory. GM Francesco Sonis led the way, scoring a perfect 4-0. His game against IM Adam Frank featured a smooth endgame victory.

UTD Stays Undefeated

The defending champions, UTD, haven't slowed down this season. After a tight win against SRM in the first round, the team scored a comfortable 11.5-4.5 victory over UTRGV. Dallas jumped out to an early lead, sweeping the first round, before taking the second by a 3-1 margin. GM Aditya Samant helped lead the way with an undefeated 3/4 score.

SRM Leads Chasing Pack

While SLU and UTD are the only teams on 2-0 scores, other schools are still in contention for the top spots. SRM lost a tough opening match to UTD, but has since had a successful run, defeating Texas Tech, UMBC, and Lviv State University of Physical Culture. The match against Texas Tech was particularly impressive, as their opponents had recently defeated a strong University of Missouri team.

GM Pranesh M is one of the top online blitz players in the world, and showed it by winning all four of his games against Texas Tech.