Deceptively Simple, Fiendishly Difficult

January 9, 2016

The chess problem, or chess composition, is a puzzle in which the solver is asked to find or complete a specific task. Unlike tactical exercises, the chess problem does not necessarily seek to find the objectively strongest move in a given position. There are many genres of chess problems; in this post, we will consider a particular type of chess problem know as the proof game. In proof game problems, the solver is given a move or position and is asked to construct a game that ends in that position.

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Phil Lowell Receives ChessMaine's Inaugural Brilliancy Prize

January 6, 2016

Throughout the history of chess, players have received awards for particularly beautiful games usually featuring sacrificial attacks and unexpected moves. These awards, known as brilliancy prizes, recognize a player's contribution to both artistic and technical aspects of the game. Because the winner of a chess game is, as Savielly Tartakower quipped, "the one who makes the next-to-last mistake," brilliancy prizes do not require strictly sound play or the best moves by either side. Congratulations to Phil Lowell for becoming the first player in a hopefully long list to receive the ChessMaine Brilliancy Prize for one of his games in the 2016 Bangor Open.

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MECA Election Results

January 5, 2016

The results of the Maine Chess Association election were dutifully tabulated by outgoing MECA secretary Lee Doucette. The Board welcomes two new faces: Eric Dinnerstein (Secretary) and Lucas McCain (Director). Thanks to all who offered their names in nomination, to those who participated in voting, and to outgoing Board members Lee Doucette and Ron Lewis for their years of hard work and dedicated service to the Maine chess community.

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Bangor Open Tournament Report

January 5, 2016

Alex Relyea continues to offer Maine chess players opportunities to compete in professionally run tournaments that attract strong players. The Bangor Open, held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Bangor on January 2-3, was Maine's first tournament of 2016. FM Nelson Casteneda of Connecticut took first in the open section with an unbeaten and untied 4.0 points. Maine State Champion FM Jarod Bryan took clear second with 3.0 points and William Ravn, Phil Lowell, and Darrell Salisbury tied for third with 2.5 points. In the U1750 section, Curt Brock, Tom Sandford, and Nathan Gates finished equal first with 2.5 points. Here are crosstables, images, and games featuring our new ChessBase Game Viewer.

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ChessMaine Interviews: Lee Doucette

December 29, 2015

Lee Doucette is one of the Maine chess community's pillars. He has been active and involved with the Maine Chess Association since the mid 1980's serving as tournament director, MECA board member and, of course, player. After many years of service, Lee is leaving his post as MECA Secretary. He hopes to get more over-the-board time in 2016. We caught up with Lee to get his perspectives on chess, characters, and "showing up" for life.

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The Best of ChessMaine.net 2015

December 26, 2015

As we approach the ten year anniversary of ChessMaine.net on March 11, 2016, we take our annual end-of-the-year look back at all things chess in Maine for the year 2015. Some highlights include: an academic discussion on the life of Marcel Duchamp at Bowdoin College, chess at Super Bowl XLIX, ChessMaine.net and MECA featured in the Maine Sun Journal, MACC first on USCF's list of Small State Affiliates, a premier screening of the film Algorithms, the Women's World Championship, the US Championship, the Maine Championship, and ChessMaine.net receives its fourth Chess Journalists of America award. And that's just the tip of the chess iceberg!

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Vote in the MECA Elections

December 21, 2015

We invite MECA members to cast their votes in the Maine Chess Association elections. You can check your membership status here. To purchase or renew a MECA membership visit the ChessMaine.net Store or contact MECA Secretary Lee Doucette at lfdoucet@maine.rr.com or call 207-797-4215 evenings or weekends. Voting ends on Tuesday, December 29, 2015 at midnight.

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Jarod Bryan is Maine Chess Player of the Year

December 20, 2015

Jarod Bryan went three for three at the Aurora Winter Solstice tournament to clinch the title of Maine Chess Player of the Year for 2015. Sergio Mejia finished in second place and the class prizes went as follows: Class B: Brian Hurst and Ryan Tripp, Class C: Joseph Powell, Class D and Under: Frank Collemer. Congratulations to all who participated in this year-long competition. Here is a roundup of the final standings.

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USCF Policy and Rule Changes for 2016

December 18, 2015

The United States Chess Federation maintains and codifies the official rules of chess in successive editions of "The Rulebook" also known as the US Chess Federation's Official Rules of Chess. At various intervals, USCF publishes rule and policy changes. In this report, we bring you the 2016 edition of these changes.

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2016 FIDE Candidates Tournament Announcement

December 14, 2015

The World Chess Federation has announced details about the 2016 Candidates Tournament. The winner of this tournament will challenge current world champion Magnus Carlsen in the last quarter of 2016 presumably somewhere in the United States. The tournament will be played in Moscow from March 10-30, 2016 and include the following players: Vishy Anand, Sergey Karjakin, Peter Svidler, Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, Veselin Topalov, Anish Giri, and Levon Aronian.

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