February 21, 2017
Contact: Judy Goodman
Lents & Associates
For Immediate Release
Webster University’s SPICE Chess Coaches Invited to Present at prestigious MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference
ST. LOUIS – Webster University is pleased to announce that Susan Polgar, chess grandmaster, head coach and founder of the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE), and Paul Truong, SPICE chess coach and chief strategist, were asked to participate in the 11th annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference on March 3 and 4 in Boston, Ma.
This year’s MIT conference is entitled “Elevate the Game.” Bringing like-minded leaders together to learn from one another, the conference goal is to provide opportunities for sharing industry successes, create forums to discuss the most challenging topics of the day, and continue to identify new ideas.
Polgar and Truong were asked to provide exclusive insight into their winning methodology, which has brought unprecedented success for their SPICE chess teams. Their presentation at the conference is “Winning with Mental, Psychological and Technical Precision.”
“We are delighted that Susan and Paul will be representing the Webster University SPICE team at MIT,” states President Elizabeth (Beth) Stroble, Webster University. “One of our core values is to develop educational programs that encourage creativity and foster a lifelong desire to learn. This exciting conference is certainly consistent with those goals.”
Considered the most prestigious sports conference in the world, Polgar and Truong will join nearly fifty other presenters at the conference, including Adam Silver, NBA Commissioner; Billy Beane, GM of the Oakland Athletics MLB team; Bob Myers, General Manager and President of Basketball Operations, Golden State Warriors; and Nate Silver, Statistician, Author and Founder FiveThirtyEight.
The SPICE chess team has won six consecutive men’s Division I Final Four National Championships, and will be aiming for the seventh at the end of March. If they win, the coaches will equal the record of seven in a row set by John Wooden of UCLA. In the past 4.5 years, students from Webster’s SPICE team have won 2 World Championships, 4 World Open Championships, and 43 National Championships, which is more than all other collegiate chess programs combined.
Webster University’s SPICE program, founded by former Women’s World Champion Susan Polgar in 2012, currently has a total of 23 diverse and talented students. Four are African American; other countries represented on the team are Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, India, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Colombia, Israel, and Mexico.
About Webster University: With its home campus in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, Webster University (www.webster.edu) comprises an action-oriented global network of faculty, staff, students and alumni who forge powerful bonds with each other and with their communities around the globe. Founded in 1915, Webster is a private non-profit university with more than 17,000 students studying at campus locations in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa and in a robust learning environment online. The university is committed to delivering high-quality learning experiences that transform students for global citizenship and individual excellence.