"It was an easy win," he said.
Both Chudnovsky and McClelland complained that it's hard for busy students to remain competitive in chess, and estimated that their chess skills have gone downhill during their time at Harvard, because they haven't had the time to train.
At the age of 15, Chudnovsky chose not to go professional, but he has not given up all of his chess ambitions. He hopes to qualify for the U.S. Junior Invitational next year.
The chess club, which was founded in 1874, is planning a busy fall. The much-anticipated Harvard-Yale match will take place, by tradition, on the morning of The Game. Harvard hopes to make this year its eighth straight win.
A match pitting students against faculty is also in the works, at which students said they are confident they will be victorious. "I wouldn't compete in something that I didn't expect to do well in," McClelland said. "I think we can beat them."
Grandmaster Alexander Ivanov and International Master-elect William Paschall tied for first place overall in the tournament.