Webster Student Places Second in U.S. Women’s Chess Championship

Anna Sargsyan, a computer science major and a member of Webster’s chess team took second place in the U.S. Women’s Chess Championship, held last month at the St. Louis Chess Club. This was the first time she had competed in the U.S. Women’s Championship.

“Playing in my first U.S. Women’s Championship was an incredible experience. I put my heart into every game, and finishing just half a point behind first place motivates me even more,” Sargsyan said. “This debut showed me how close I am, and it inspires me to keep working and come back even stronger. I’m also really grateful for the support I’ve received from Webster: from my teammates, coaches, and professors. It makes a huge difference to have a community that encourages me while I compete at the highest level.”

This isn’t the first time that Sargsyan has finished as one of the top competitors at a tournament. She is both a woman grandmaster and an international master on the chess circuit. In 2023, she was named the U.S. Collegiate Woman Blitz champion. Blitz chess is a fast-paced game. Each game lasts six minutes and players have two-second increments for each move. She was also named the U.S. Women’s Collegiate Rapid Champion that year. Rapid chess is also quick, but the game lasts 20 minutes and players have five-second increments for each move.

Earlier this year, she was a member of Webster’s all-female team in the annual Pan American Collegiate Chess tournament, which was named the top female team during the event. Because Webster’s players did so well, the team qualified for the President’s Cup, which is the national collegiate chess championship, and tied for first place in that tournament.

At this year’s U.S. Women’s Chess Champion, Sargsyan came precariously close to being crowned the national champion. She finished with 7.5 points out of 11 games, but lost by one-half point to Stanford student and top-rated women chess player Carissa Yip, who finished the tournament with a score of 8.0. Players are awarded one point for each game they win, one-half point for each draw, and zero points for each loss. 

The full results of the tournament are online.