03.12.07 There’Äôs a new movie out, 300, which is an account of the Spartan warriors who held off the Persians at the Battle of Thermopylae. No less riveting were the examples of hard-fought, close battles and team comradery that took place over chess boards at the annual State Scholastic Team Chess Championships which also drew 300 spirited combatants. Held Saturday, March 10, 2007 at the University of Maine’Äôs Memorial Union, players from all ends of the State gathered to contest State titles in Elementary, Junior High and High School Divisions.

The University of Maine, Orono where all the battles went down.

Thanks to Ron Lewis for contibuting to this report.

Crosstable High School Championship Section

Crosstable High School Reserve Section

Crosstable Junior High School (K-8) Championship Section

Crosstable Junior High School (K-8) and Elementary (K-6) Novice Section

Crosstable Elementary (K-6) Championship Section

Crosstable Primary (K-3) Championship Section

In the Elementary section, team titles were up for grabs in the K-6 and K-3, Championship and Novice sections. The Championship K-6 section produced Co-Champion State Elementary Teams in Deer Isle - Stonington (DIS) and Cape Elizabeth (CE). Tie-breaks were used to determine which team received the first-place trophies, and on the narrowest of margins, these went to CE. Top scorers for DIS (the sum of the top 5 scores is the team score) were Sam Grindle, Hayden Ciomei, Connor Morey, Eric Babbit, Lucas Oliver and Tyler Bartlett. Top scorers for Cape were Matthew Fishbein, Brett Parker, Daniel Brett, Alex Silva, and Wesley Parker. Top unrated player honors went to Isaiah Fallon of Mount Desert Island (MDI) with a score of 3 out of 4. Top girl honors went to Haley DeLuca Lowell with a score of 3.5 out of 4. Invited back in this section to play with waived entry fee in the Individual Scholastic Championships on March 24, 2007 by scoring 3 or more points were all the top scorers for each of the two co-championship teams, plus Haley DeLuca Lowell (Airline Community School), Ezra Briggs (Maranatha), Nathan Dee (All Saints), and Isaiah Fallon (MDI).

After 4 consecutive second places (2003 - 2006) in the Elementary Championship section, this year Cape Elizabeth comes out on top.

Elementary Champions for nine years running! The Deer Isle - Stonington Dynasty

What to do in between rounds of the grueling state championship tournament? Play more chess of course! Here Matthew Fishbein (left) and Alex Silva, both of Cape Elizabeth, play a skittles game over lunch.

One of the top scorers in the K-6 Championship section with 4 points in 4 games, Mathew Fishbein. Sam Grindle of Deer Isle - Stonington also blanked his competition with 4 points.

Action in the K-6 Championship section

In the K-3 section, the Airline Community School took top honors over the team from DIS. Top scorers for the winning team (the sum of the top three scores is the team score) were Laddy DeLuca Lowell, Max DeLuca Lowell, and Isiah Massey. Top scorers for DIS were Ethan Shepard, Soo Zin Cha, and Cameron Wendell. Top Girl honors went to Laddy DeLuca Lowell (Airline). Invited back for excellent performance in this section were: Laddy DeLuca Lowell, Max DeLuca Lowell, and Isiah Massey of Airline; and Ethan Shepard and Soo Zin Cha of DIS.

State Champions in the K-3 division for two years running: Airline Community School. From left to right: Isaiah Massey, Laddy DeLuca Lowell, Hannah Gray and Max DeLuca Lowell. This team scored a stunning 11.5 points out of a possible 12.

Max DeLuca Lowell caps his unbeaten and untied streak with a pawn checkmate in Round 4. The only other player to go unbeaten and untied in the K-3 section was his older sister, Laddy DeLuca Lowell.

Second Place in the K-3 Championship section: Deer Isle - Stonington with coach Amy Woida

Action in the K-3 Championship section

In the Elementary Novice Section, the winner was the Stillwater Montessori School over Drinkwater Elementary. Winning team members were Devon Goodale, Conor Millard, John Kenneway, Isaac Robinson, Reid Horton, and Harrison Dieuveuil. Members of the Drinkwater school were Caelyn Crosby, Logan Parker, Taran Evans-Moran, Alex Johnson, and Leo Richter. Top individual player honors went to Reid Horton (Stillwater).

Stillwater Montessori School players with coach Joe Alex

Second in the Elementary Novice section: Drinkwater Elementary

In the Junior High Section, two divisions were contested ’Äì the Championship and the Novice. In the Championship section, Orono and DIS were deadlocked and were declared co-champions. On tie-breaks, the first place trophies went to DIS. Top scorers for DIS were Ian Pelletier, Andrew Babbit, Jacob Starkey, Gareth Warr, and Janelle Ciomei. Top scorers for Orono were Avery Cole, Nick Peterson, Jiawei Zou, Yuval Boss and Pail Robinson. Invited back for the Individuals with entry fee waived were: Avery Cole, Nick Peterson, Jiawei Zou and Yuval Boss of Orono; Ian Pelletier, Andrew Babbit, Jacob Starkey and Gareth Warr of DIS; Margaret Bryan of Airline; Robert Freccero of Cape Elizabeth; and Liam Mullen of Bristol. Top Girl Award went to Margaret Bryan of Airline. Top unrated went to Branden Eugly of Bristol.

Orono Middle School, Co-Champions in the K-8 Championship section with...

Deer Isle - Stonington.

Action in the K-8 Championship section

Shannon Daly of Cape Elizabeth playing the white pieces vs Holly Brewer of Deer Isle - Stonington in Round 1 of the Junior High School Championship section.

In the JHS Novice Section, Bucksport prevailed over Troy Howard Middle School. Members of the winning team were Chad Atherton, Dustin Hartman, Casey Ginn, Adrian Appleby and Austin Sargent. Top individual performance went to Chad Atherton.

Bucksport Middle School players (left to right) Adrian Appleby and Chad Atherton

Junior High School Novice Second place winners Troy Howard Middle School

The High School competition saw titles decided for the Championship, Reserve and Novice Sections. In the High School Championship section, 14 teams of five players each faced each other in match play. The final round saw old rivals John Bapst and DIS face each other for the State team title. In a match that went down to the wire with flags hanging and about to fall, John Bapst proved victorious to reclaim the State HS crown. DIS and Bangor HS tied for second with 3 point each, with the second place trophies going to Deer Isle - Stonington on tie-breaks. Winning team members were Fritz Eyerer, Murray Bridges, Zachary LaPierre, Frank Kessler and Zachary Smith. DIS team members were Bryan Ciomei, Shane Eaton, Collin Ciomei, Jon Eaton and Goldie Garcia. Bangor team members were Eugene Abramov, Andrew Giebfried, Henry Chai, Andrew Audibert and Scott Dennis. Top Girl award went to Kaitlyn Haas of Hampden Academy. Invited back to play in the Individuals with no entry fee were: Brandon Greaton (Thornton Academy); David Chandpen (Cheverus); Cullen Edes (Orono); Henry Chai, Andrew Audibert and Scott Dennis of Bangor High; Shane Eaton, Collin Ciomei and Jon Eaton of DIS; and Fritz Eyerer and Zachary Smith of John Bapst.

Bryant Ciomei (left) of Deer Isle - Stonington extends his hand to Fritz Eyerer in the last game of the High School Championship. This game gave John Bapst the state title by the narrowest of margins (one half of a point).

John Bapst coach Bob Solinger (left) and Deer Isle - Stonington coach emeritus Dick Powell taking great interest in the outcome of the final game in the championship round.

Members of the John Bapst championship team (left to right) Zachary Smith, Murray Bridges, and Fritz Eyerer

So close: Deer Isle - Stonington's high school team took second in the High School Championship section.

Girl Power! Piscataquis High School's top four boards: (right to left) Martha Witick, Cyndi Currier, Anne Witick and Julia Shaffer

Back in the Championship Section after a long hiatus: Windham High School (back left to right) Kyle Woodbury, James Gallant, Cody Haskell, Phillip Gallant and Mitchell Corey

Action in the High School Championship section

In the High School Reserve section, Orono and Maranatha were co-champions with 10 points each. Top scorers for the Orono team were Sorel Edes, Mike Zhang, Emmet Harrity and Nigel Kass. Top scorers for Maranatha were Lily Briggs, Hoty Briggs and Nathaniel Simpson. Top Girl award went to Lily Briggs of Maranatha. Top unrated went to Mike Bowser of Cheverus High School. Invited back to Individuals were Lily Briggs and Hoty Briggs of Maranatha, Mike Zhang and Sorel Edes of Orono, and Mike Bowser of Cheverus.

High School Reserve Co-Champions: Orono High School players with coach Fred Irons

Also Co-Champions in the High School Reserve section: Maranatha Homeschool Fellowship players (left to right) Hoty Briggs, Lily Briggs and Nathaniel Simpson with coach Alba Briggs.

In the High School Novice Section, Dexter High School took first, and DIS, second. Top scorers for Dexter were Lucas Jewett, David Wilkes and Joshua Shuman. For DIS, top scorers were Ethan Brown, Jake Schmidt and Jesse Aubert. The top individual performance award went to Lucas Jewett.

This tournament is the largest event of the year and depends on the efforts of many dedicated volunteers. Tournament Leaders included George Wilmot for Elementary, Kurt Klappenbach for Junior High and Fred Irons for High School. Tournament directors were Philip Lowell, Steve Wong, Alba Briggs and Tom Sandford. Ably assisting were Kathy Richards, Treasurer for the Maine State Association of Chess Coaches, Bob Solinger, coordinator for trophies and awards, and a cast of supporting coaches and assistants. Thanks go to the University of Maine for their continued support and financial aid.

Merrill "Pappy" Bradford at 89 years young plays Wesley Parker age 8 in the skittles room.

The tournament was graced by the presence of the Dean of Maine Chess, Bernard "Doc" Mann. Check out that Bolo tie!

Gary Nielson (middle) and Ben Johnson (right) point out the finer ponts of endgame play to an interested student.

Winning teams in the K-6, K-8 and High School Championship sections received this beautiful wooden chess board donated by the University of Maine College of Engineering.

There was lots of hardware up for grabs!

The 2006-07 State Individual chess crowns will be determined on March 24, 2007 at the University of Maine Memorial Union. For more information click on the events link at www.ChessMaine.net.