Webster Women Chess Players Helping Lead the Way to the National Championship

Annamaria Marjanovic (right) and Anna Sargsyan (left) practice for the President's Cup in the Chess Office in the Luhr Building.

Among the Webster Chess players preparing for the upcoming President’s Cup Collegiate Chess Championship April 5-6, chess players Annamaria Marjanovic and Anna Sargsyan are once again hoping to break more gender barriers in the world of collegiate chess. The two will be at the tournament as the two alternative members of the team as Webster tries to claim its seventh national title.

Marjanovic and Sargsyan already have many accolades to their name. Marjanovic is a woman grandmaster, while Sargsyan is both a woman grandmaster and international master. Marjanovic was the 2022 U.S. Collegiate Women Blitz Champion, and Sargsyan was the 2023 U.S. Collegiate Women Blitz champion. Both have also been highly ranked in tournaments, frequently beating many of the top-ranked male players in the room. In addition, they represented Webster at the Pan American Intercollegiate Tournament in 2023 and 2024, winning the mixed double prizes both years. This year, they represented Webster in an all-female team that also included Webster team members Women International Master Mounika Akshaya and Woman FIDE Master Toshali Vittanala. FIDE is the acronym for the International Chess Federation.

Annamaria Marjanovic

“Being a female in the world of chess, even nowadays, is not easy. People expect less from you, but you need to keep your goals high,” Marjanovic said. “Growing up, chess was my number one passion; however, during my studies at Webster, I realized I am interested in many other professions. Teaching chess in summer camps and local schools is a great way to make chess popular among younger generations. Additionally, as a chess player, I found accounting to be very interesting, as it requires a great deal of analytical skills and critical thinking.”

With that in mind, Marjanovic is double majoring in Finance and Business Administration, with an emphasis in Accounting, and pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree. She hopes to enter the world of accounting but plans on competing in tournaments after graduation. 

Both Marjanovic and Sargsyan said that the environment for women chess players is supportive at Webster University. Chess Coach Liem Le said that while Chess historically was a male-dominated game, there are increasingly more opportunities for women nowadays. Webster University has been very supportive of women chess players, from awarding competitive scholarships and organizing the annual Girls Invitational chess tournament, and hosting its first all-women team at a championship just a few years after starting Webster's chess program.

Le, who was one of Webster’s original chess players when the team was founded nearly 14 years ago, credited both Webster University’s mission of giving all students an equal opportunity to an education, along with the guidance of Webster’s first chess coach, Susan Polgar, who is a pioneer in fighting for women’s equality in the world of chess.

“When the SPICE program started in 2012, there were only a few women chess players on scholarships with top collegiate chess programs. One of the first students Susan Polgar recruited was Woman International Master Inna Agrest,” Le said. “In 2017, in addition to three male teams, WU sent an all-female team to compete in the Pan Am. That was the first time Webster had an all-female team. Since then, we have had six alumnae who represented WU in multiple collegiate tournaments.”

Since then, he said other universities invested heavily in their chess programs, thus opening more doors for women chess players. For example, Saint Louis University, University of Missouri, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley established their all-female chess teams a few years ago, while University of Texas at Dallas also reintroduced an all-female team this year.

Among the first actions Le took when he was named the new chess coach at Webster was to recruit Sargsyan and Marjanovic, thus continuing Webster’s tradition of supporting female chess players.

Anna Sargsyan

Despite facing even more challenges than their male colleagues, women chess players at Webster excel not only in chess - winning the U.S. Collegiate Women Blitz Championships two years in a row, being selected as the best female team in 2025 Pan Ams, and being included as part of the 2025 President's Cup team – but also in academics. Both Sargsyan and Marjanovic have very high GPAs and Marjanovic recently received a  scholarship from the Greater St. Louis Area Chapter ACFE 2024. ACFE is the acronym for the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, a professional organization in the accounting field. Both also continue to give back to our community through teaching at summer camps and local elementary schools. And now both will be at the national college tournament.

“Being a female chess player at Webster has been both rewarding and inspiring. This year was especially meaningful, as I was part of the all-female Webster B team that won the ‘Top All-Female’ award at the 2025 Pan-American Chess Championship. It was a proud moment, and a reflection of how female players are making their mark in the chess world,” Sargsyan said. “The environment at Webster is incredibly competitive and motivating, which has pushed me to grow as a player. I’m also grateful for the guidance and support of Coach Le, whose dedication has been instrumental in helping us develop both individually and as a team. It’s also been encouraging to see more women getting involved in the game, and I feel fortunate to be part of a program that values diversity and fosters a supportive atmosphere.

“I’m excited about the upcoming President's Cup. Being a reserve player is a great opportunity to stay involved and support the team, and it keeps me motivated to continue improving,” Sargsyan added. “It’s a prestigious event, so even being in the mix is an honor. I’m looking forward to the competition and the experience.”