Checking In

It's been awhile since I posted, but that does not mean that I have been absent from the chess world. Twice in November I attended the Ellsworth Chess Club and played some games with the erstwhile Dick Powell. I also briefly visited the Lacy Greenlaw Chess-a-thon in Deer Isle. My Gameknot games have been going well, and I've been making sure that PVC Chess continues. And, of course, I've been reminding people that MECA elections are just ahead.

The chess season is now in full swing. Today Bapst visited Bangor High for the opening of the PVC season and realized that defending their state title will not be an easy task. Bangor has talent and experience on their top boards with Andrew Audibert, Keji Xu, and Henry Chai joined by Paul Rudnicki. Deer Isle-Stonington George Stevens Academy, Bucksport, and MDI have also begun meeting for matches. Join by Orono, these Eastern Maine teams will be battle-tested when the States roll around in March.

The Aurora Winter Solstice is just around the corner (December 12), and this has become a can't miss event on the chess calendar. The atmosphere is made by the organization of Dan Deluca and sidekick Laddy, while the food is arguably the best of all chess concession stands. This will be the 5th Annual. Come join the fun!

Thanks again to all those that have supported my candidacy for president of MECA. It will be an interesting election; I hope that there is a good turnout of MECA members. That will show that Maine chess is far from stagnant. See you at a board!

Eastern Maine Open Crosstable Up

David Plotkin scored a perfect 4.0 en route to winning the Open division of the Eastern Maine Open. Due to upsets along the way, the highest rated opponent he had to defeat was Roger Hardison (1550) of Caribou in the second round. He beat Yuri Riabkov in the the third after Yuri's two upsets and then upstart Wesley Parker (1333) in the final round. Yuri, Wesley, Roger Morin, and Phil Lowell shared second with 3.0 points. Aaron Spencer and lone female Kathy Richards were next with 2.5 points.

David Plotkin, currently a junior at Bowdoin College, now holds a rating of 2111 which would place him just behind recent Bowdoin College graduate Jason Spector (2144) in active players within the state. It is great to see Experts play in Bangor Area tournaments.

Gianluca Pane went 4.0 in the Under 1400 section to take home top honors there, while John Xiang and Andrew Nevells shared first with 3.0 in the Under 1000 section. Colin Smith at 3.5 took clear first in the Under 600 section.

Eastern Maine Open Draws 41 Players

There was a good turnout yesterday for the Eastern Maine Open put on by the Tom Sandford and the University of Maine Chess Club. There were 24 players in the Open section which saw numerous upsets in the first two rounds. Unfortunately I was unable to stay past the second round, so I await the crosstable being submitted to USCF like the rest of you.

Yuri Riabkov, the John Bapst coach, was playing very well having upset both Matthew Fishbein (currently the 68th ranked 11 year old in the nation) and Roger Morin who was fresh off his Maine Closed Co-Championship in the first two rounds. Others off to strong starts against higher rated players were UMaine Chess Club member Daniel Robbins (2.0) and Bangor High's Keji Xu (1.5).

I enjoyed visiting with many of the players and getting ideas in case I'm elected president of MECA. Many were supportive and excited about the future of Maine chess for 2010.