The 144th Varsity Chess Match between the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge took place on 7 March 2026 at the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall, London. The historic fixture was supported by the Royal Automobile Club. Play was conducted under a classical time control of 2 hours for the first 40 moves followed by 1 additional hour to finish the game, without increment.
Before play began, the customary pre-match ceremony was held. In keeping with tradition, the captain of the team that had most recently lost the contest was prompted to issue a formal challenge, which was duly accepted by the opposing side. Oxford then won the toss, and team captain Connor Clarke opted to take the black pieces on the odd-numbered boards.
Oxford entered the match without their former leading player Tom O'Gorman, whose strong performances had defined recent editions of the encounter. Cambridge, meanwhile, had strengthened their lineup with the addition of IM Rajat Makkar, a French-registered but England-based player who had scored 6/9 at the 2025 British Championship. Although the top board appeared to favour Cambridge, Oxford held higher ratings on the remaining boards and were therefore regarded as marginal favourites overall.
Participants and organisers | Photo: John Saunders
The contest itself proved closely fought and ultimately finished level at 4–4. Half of the eight games ended in draws, while each side secured two victories. Cambridge's full points were recorded on boards one and three, where Makkar and Remy Rushbrooke both won with the white pieces. In each case, the decisive phase featured good-looking tactical combinations that prompted Oxford players' resignations. Makkar overcame an opponent rated more than 200 points below him, while Rushbrooke scored an upset against Aron Saunders.
White is completely winning here, but Makkar found a nice path to victory, playing 29.Nxe4 while his rook is en prise on h5.
There followed 29...Kxh5 30.Qd1+ Kg6 31.Qg4+ Kf7
Now White wins with 32.Qg7+ Ke8 33.Nd6+ and Black resigned
Oxford's successes came further down the lineup. On board five, Andrea Henderson of Andorra achieved the only win with the black pieces in the match. Another point followed on board six, where Savin Dias prevailed convincingly with white.
Source: John Saunders
In addition to the main match, the first reserve players competed in a friendly encounter on "board nine", which did not contribute to the team result. Cambridge's Malcolm Sow defeated Khai Jie Ryan Pang in that game.
The drawn outcome leaves Cambridge still ahead in the long-running series. Following the 144th edition, the cumulative tally stands at 61 victories for Cambridge, 59 for Oxford, with 24 matches drawn.
Read John Saunder's full report...
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