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.

Mariners Move Up In Standings

After four rounds the Deer Isle - Stonington chess team was in 17th place, fourteen spots higher than when they started the day. Orly Vaughn, Bendon Penfold, and Tyson Rice all won their third and fourth round matches to lead the resurgence.

Deer Isle - Stonington @ K-6 Nationals

Avery Reynolds and Orly Vaughn were able to each get a victory on the first day of competition at the K-6 Elementary Chess Nationals in Dallas. Oskar Mattes, Brendan Penfold, Tyson Rice, Colby Haskell, and Ennis Marshall are all looking for their first points as the enter Day 2 in the K5 Under 900 section. Kylee Atwood was also hoping to gain her first points in the K6 Under 1000 section on Day 2. We're wishing them good luck at this seven round event in Texas!

Ethan Bergeron Finishes Strong at Nationals

Ethan Bergeron was able to finish with 4.0 points in the Under 1600 Section at the High School Nationals in Columbus, Ohio. He managed three wins and two draws in this 7-round marathon. His teammates Connor Maines (1.5) and Patrick Jerome (0.5) played in the Championship Section and learned how tough this competition is. Due to being unrated they had to choose between the Championship Section and the Unrated Section and opted for the more challenging section.

Hopefully we'll hear more from their adventure when they return. Next up is the K-6 Nationals in Dallas where a group from Deer Isle-Stonington will look to bring home some hardware. They have seven players entered the U900 K-5 Section. I'll keep you posted on their results next weekend.