Valentine's Massacre Quads

Max Berube and Ben Amar swept through their respective quads Saturday with perfect scores of three points. Only eight chess players braved their way to the Memorial Union at the University of Maine. An event sandwiched between two snowstorms was bound to have only local diehards show up, and, yes, seven of the eight players were from Orono, and the other, Brian Hurst, was from Bangor. Hurst came in second in the higher quad upsetting the higher seeded Tom Sandford and Ryan Tripp.

The others in the lower quad were Joe Astumian, Saadh Ahmed, and Ben Wilson-McFarlane. The Orono Middle School teammates battled hard against each other in the lower quad and seem poised to contend for the Junior High Championship in three weeks.  The tournament was organized and run by Tom Sandford. The next event in eastern Maine is Saturday, February 22 in Bangor - the All Saints Winter Warm-Up. Check details on chessmaine.net.

John Bapst G/35 Results

Six players met at Barrows Hall, the home of the Engineering Dept. at UMaine, for three rounds of action chess. Max Berube continued his climb up the ratings ladder in March. He defeated Andy Bryan, Yuri Riabkov, and Dan DeLuca to raise his rating to 1752 and winning streak to ten games. The current UMaine sophomore has been on a hot streak of late with a leap of almost 300 points over the past year.

Dan DeLuca and Yuri Riabkov both finished with two wins to tie for second. Haley Deluca Lowell, a John Bapst freshman, scored a victory over her teammate Matt Spear, and then defeated her former coach and teacher, Andy Bryan, in a Quick rated match. The six players enjoyed a very comfortable setting in a very impressive building thanks to former Bapst parent Scott Collins. The evening event helped raise money for the John Bapst chess club.

Don't forget to register for the State Closed Championship April 21-22 in Waterville. See chessmaine.net for all the details.

Friday G/35 Upcoming March 30

For the fifth consecutive year there will be a Friday night chess tournament at UMaine to benefit the John Bapst chess program. It set up as three rounds and in groups of 8 or less. It's a fun change of pace from daylong events. This year it is in Barrows Hall and the playing rooms are very comfortable. Barrows is a two minute walk to the Union if one needs refreshments or a break between rounds. Please check chessmaine.net events page for all the details.

Chess Events Ahead

There are two Bangor are events in the near future. Steve Abrahams is hosting a tournament December 3 in Orono, and the Aurora Winter Solstice is scheduled on December 11. Both events are posted on chessmaine.net. The Aurora Winter Solstice is in its seventh year. It is famed for its excellent home cooking and small school feel. Let's hope that the weather is nice for traveling on these two dates!

Summer Chess

While the Ellsworth Chess Club heated up, a few Mainers enjoyed the cool air conditioning in hot Orlando, Florida while participating in the US Open and other chess championships. Keji Xu represented Maine high school players at the Denker, Matthew Fishbein represented K-8 students at the newly formed Barber Invitational, and Steve Abrahams, Matthew, and his dad Dan took part in the US Open itself.

Keji Xu finished with 2.5 points good for a tie for 32nd out of 50 competitors. The highlight of his competition was an upset of Graham Horobetz (2125) in the last round. Keji's rating was 1616 heading into the tournament. He was able to raise his rating to 1637 through his play at the Denker; that is his best to date.

Matthew Fishbein also had a very successful tournament. He finished 4th in the field of 44 in the first-ever Barber K-8 Tournament of Champions. By the time he was done, he had inched his rating closer to the 2000 marked finishing at 1991. It won't be long now before Matthew will become the first Maine elementary student to reach the coveted plateau. Let's hope he does it at one of our Maine tournaments!

Steve Abrahams and Matthew Fishbein both finished with 4.5 points out of nine rounds in the US Open. I trust that they all had a great time in Florida and took some time to see some of the sights that aren't so available in Maine.

Meanwhile back in Ellsworth Dick Powell continued to keep things hopping at Mr. Paperback at 6:00 on Thursdays. Seasonal players came by to challenge the likes of Mark Woida, Isaac Marnik, and Paul Wlodkowski. Sometimes there were up to a dozen players enjoying the competition.

Mariners Finish 18th; Vaughn Ties For 19th

The Deer Isle - Stonington State K-6 Champions took their show on the road to Dallas this past weekend and proved to be weekend warriors. Led by Orly Vaughn's 5.0 points, they finished with 15.0 good for 18th place. Despite their slow start on the first day, they rebounded to again show that Maine island chess is top notch. Tyson Rice and Brendan Penfold finished with 3.5 points, while Avery Reynolds and Ennis Marshall scored 3.0 a piece to share fourth on the team. Colby Haskell and Oskar Mattes were the other members who played in the K5 Under 900 section. Kylee Atwood competed in the K6 U1000 and finished with 2.0 points.

That closes the book on scholastic team championships for 2011. Overall an excellent showing from our Maine schools and individuals. Keep up the great work!

DI-S Enters Last Day in 14th Place

The Deer Isle - Stonington K5 Under 900 chess team continued to gain positions in the fifth round with Orly Vaughn (4.0) and Brendan Penfold (3.0) completing their sweep of all three rounds on Saturday. Avery Reynolds moved to 3.0 and Tyson Rice finished the day at 2.0 which gave the Mariners 12.0 points good for 14th place entering the final to rounds on Sunday. After a slow start in Dallas on Friday the Mariners looked good in the third through fifth rounds and are primed to bring home another trophy for their showcase.