09.13.08 Roger Morin swept the field with a perfect 4 for 4 at the St. Croix River Valley International Chess Classic held August 16, 2008 at the Crohn Family Conference Center in Perry, Maine. Trailing Morin and tying for 2nd-5th place were Fred McKim, Jason Manley, Lily Ann Briggs and Nathaniel Simpson.

Through the looking glass at the Crohn Family Conference Center in Perry, Maine the site of the 2nd Annual St. Croix River Valley International Chess Classic.

St. Croix River Valley ICC Crosstable

Thanks to Alba Briggs for contributing to this report.

Eighteen players competed in the 2nd Annual St. Croix River Valley International Chess Classic. A truely international event, the tournament attracted many players from the Canadian Maritime Provinces including: Jamie Kennedy (St. John, New Brunswick), Jason Manley (Moncton, New Brunswick), Carl O'Donnell (Carlow, New Brunswick), Fred McKim (Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island) and Jonathan O'Donnell (Fredricton, New Brunswick).

Tournament Director Alba Briggs used accelerated pairings according to Rule 28R1, the Added Score Method, with some adjustments in the round 3 pairings to keep as many matches as possible between closely rated players. With a few exceptions, this worked well, giving good competition at each rating level. As usual, the Crohn Center offered very comfortable playing conditions, and good shelter from the thunderstorms of the day, the first of which began with a deluge and an auspicious clap of thunder at the beginning of round 1. It was great to get such good representation from our neighbors in Canada. We hope to see more cross-border play in the future, perhaps establishing reciprocal memberships with the USCF and the CFC. Check out http://138.119.1.209/~duff/mcc/maritime.html for a calendar of tournaments in the Maritimes.

Prizes were awarded as 'class' prizes as opposed to 'under' prizes:

Open 1st Roger Morin $100; 2nd Fred McKim $25; Jason Manley $25.
1500-1799 1st Mike McCabe $50; 2nd Jamie Kennedy $35.
1200-1499 1st Lily Briggs $40; 2nd Maggie Bryan $20.
1000-1199 1st Nathaniel Simpson $30; 2nd Andy Bryan $7.50; Ezra Briggs $7.50.
100-999 1st Jacob McGuffin $10.

Mark your calendars for the 3rd Annual St. Croix River Valley International Chess Classic in September 2009!

Fred McKim (2042) - Roger Morin (1980) 0-1
St. Croix River Valley International Chess Classic
Round 3
Perry, Maine
August 16, 2008
Annotations provided with the assistance of Fritz 9

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5 Ne4 6. Bxe7 Qxe7 7. Nxe4 dxe 8. c3 c5

9. Bb5+ 9. Qg4 would have kept White's advantage. With the text move Black equalizes.

9. ...Bd7 10. Bxd7 Nxd7 11. Ne2 cxd 12. cxd Qb4+ 13. Qd2 Qxd2 14. Kxd2 f5 15. Rac1 Kd8 16. Rc3 Rc8 17. Rhc1 Rxc3 18. Rxc3 Nb6 19. Nf4 Kd7 20. b3 g5 21. Ne2 Nd5 22. Rc4 Rc8 23. Nc3 Nxc3 24. Kxc3 Rc6 25. Kd2 b5

26. Rc3 This allows 26. ...Rxc3 with initiative and an advantage Black holds onto for the remainder of the game.

26. ...Rxc3 27. Kxc3 Kc6 28. a3 Kd5 29. a4 bxa 30. bxa a5 31. g3 h6 32. h3

32. ...h5 White is in zugzwang and resigns.

Tournament winner Roger Morin (right) plays the white pieces vs. Lily Briggs in the critical final round game. At this point both players had 3.0 points.

From Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island: Fred McKim.

A fine performance for Jason Manley netted the young Canadian player 3.0 points and a tie for 2nd-5th place.

Also scoring 3.0 points, Nathaniel Simpson (left) plays Aedan Norvlaan in round 1.

Roger Peterson (left) and Todd Snyder of Houlton, Maine mix it up in round 3.

Fred McKim has his turn with Todd Snyder in round 4.

Charlie Clark (Portland, Maine)

Jamie Kennedy (foreground) and Mike McCabe are all business as they both enter the middlegame.

Carl O'Donnell from Carlow, New Brunswick

Carl O'Donnell (foreground left) plays Mike McCabe while Richard Look (background left) takes on Jamie Kennedy in the third round.

Hands on heads: Margaret Bryan (foreground left) plays Ezra Briggs and Lily Briggs (background left) plays Jacob McGuffin.

From Sandy Point, Maine: Aedan Norvlaan

Roger Peterson (right) talks through a position with Jason Manley.

The father-daughter team Andy Bryan (background right) and Margaret Bryan (foreground right) play Lily Briggs (background left) and Charlie Clark (foreground left).

Another member of the Bryan clan, Anna Bryan, studies in the skittles room.

Jonathan O'Donnell of Fredricton, New Brunswick.

WCCF tournament vereran Richard Look.

Surprise visitors all the way from New Zealand: Ann and Ralph Townsend. Ralph is a long-time Maine chessplayer, certified tournament director and former professor at the University of Maine.

Premier playing conditions in the tournament room at the Crohn Family Conference Center in Perry, Maine.