I'm glad to see that the posts so far regarding Akagi's proposal are being greeted with open minds. Roger is right on with his comments, we have a lot of good things to look forward to in 2010.

I am in favor of more tournaments but I am not unsure how workable the proposed plan will be. I have a feeling there might be some grey zone champs where drawing the boundaries might get a little "iffy". You might have zonal games without awarding anyone the "champ" title. Bill Gallagher

I'm very much in favor of having these types of tournaments. This is a gift to all the chess players in Maine. All of us can play...They will be run in a most professional manner with good playing sites, great prizes etc...If we are looking for someone to lead Maine Chess into the future, I'm convinced that Akagi has all the recources he needs to make a positive contribution as well as having a great deal of experience having conducted many tournaments in California...Roger Morin

I am very excited about Akagi's idea of Zonal tournaments. We need to find innovative ways of creating more tournaments and encouraging more people to participate. Having participated in Chess Dreams' tournament in Lewiston this past year, I can attest to the the effort that Akagi put into making it a truly enjoyable experience. Also, his connection with Alex Relyea, an experienced organizer from NH might help bring other strong tournaments to Maine.

I think that it is definitely an interesting concept, however I would tend to disagree with the idea of anyone playing in any "zonal". I would like to see the residents of that particular region have the best chance to win. It might be possible to do this through two sections (championship) and (open) only residents or students from that given region would be allowed to play in the championship section however others could play in the open.