State Champion Crowned! McCain Wins!

Lucas McCain took advantage of being home on summer break to win the Maine State Closed Championship outright. Denied a state championship during his high school days despite being at or near the top of the ratings, today he took home the title of Maine State Champion by gaining 4.5 points out of five to finish half a point clear of Steve Abrahams and Ruben Babayan. Early in the fifth round in his match with Steve it was clear that the game would be drawn so they accepted their positions on the final wall chart.

It was an evenly contested tournament as evident by top rated David Plotkin only finishing with 2.5. The full write-up should be on Chessmaine.net soon along with the crosstable on USCF. Congratulations also goes to Under 1650 winner Jose Lugo.

Day 1 - Maine Closed Championships

Down a piece defending co-champion David Plotkin pulled a rabbit out of his hat by sacrificing his queen and forcing mate over upstart Derrick Crocker en route to gaining 2.5 points on the first day of the Maine State Closed Championship. Atop the twenty players in the Open is Lucas McCain with 3.0 points. Joining McCain and Plotkin in the unbeaten ranks is Steve Abrahams with 2.5. Six follow with 2.0 points: Ruben Babayan, Phil Lowell, Andrey Savov, Darrell Salisbury, Wesley Parker, and Crocker.

The final two rounds commence are at 9:30 and 2:00 tomorrow.

Ellsworth Chess Club Set to Host George O'Rourke Memorial Tournament

Next Thursday, August 19, at the Ellsworth Chess Club Meeting, there will be a tournament to honor one of their own past members, George O'Rourke. George was a constant member of the club for many years particularly in the summer. Again a chess book or two of his will be given to the top finishers at the event. The Ellsworth Club runs from 6:30-8:00 at Mr. Paperback. Expect some fast action and quality competition. The event is free and unrated and organized by Dick Powell.

Aaron Spencer Goes To Denker

Aaron Spencer, a recent graduate of John Bapst Memorial High School, went to California representing the state of Maine at Denker Championships. The Denker includes one high school representative from each state and there were a couple more from the host state. All in all 49 students participated, and, of these 49, twenty-two had ratings over 2000. The competition was outstanding for Aaron, and he did very well scoring 3.0 over six rounds. He finished tied for 22nd after being seeded 40th. This resulted in his rating jumping 46 points from 1720 to 1766, his highest rating to date. For more information on his games check chessmaine.net. Great job, Aaron! We hope to see you next weekend at the Maine State Closed Championship!