04.12.10 In his February Board Room blog, MECA President Andy Bryan tips his hat to four people, "who have been crucial to chess in Maine." We apologize for being tardy with this entry. Enjoy the read!

February Kudos

The month of February provides many opportunities to hone one's chess skills which is particularly important for scholastics as they gear up for March Madness - the Team and Individual Championships at the University of Maine in Orono. The team event on the first Saturday of March has traditionally been the largest attended chess event in the state. It should be again this March 6.

I tip my hat this month to four people who have been crucial to chess in Maine and provided opportunities in February for all ages. First to Dick Powell, the longtime chess coach, from Deer Isle-Stonington - coming off his Super Bowl Saturday scholastic tournament tradition (now called the Joe Brown Memorial) - he organized three get-togethers in Ellsworth for area K-8 schools. Students from at least eight different schools attended his events. Dick also continued holding his Thursday night chess club, participated in the All Saints tournament, and was there to support his proteges at All Girls event.

Second to Steve Wong, longtime tournament director and coach in the Bangor area, he again hosted the All Saints Winter Warmup and provided homemade trophies to all his scholastic participants. Steve has been working with chess here in the Bangor area for at least twenty years. He has worked with numerous scholastic champions including his own children. There is no more enthusiastic TD than Steve.

Third to Roger Morin, veteran chess player and now tournament organizer and director in northern Maine, he has played in and thirty-three tournaments since his return to USCF rated events in 2007. All of these tournaments have been in Maine - primarily Bangor north. His passion for chess is unsurpassed, and now he has brought rated tournaments to Millinocket and Presque Isle.

And fourth to Dan Deluca, player, chess parent, tournament director, and chessmaine.net visionary, he continues to work tirelessly on making chess relevant to all Mainers. He has appealed to the casual by taking wonderful snapshots of participants, venues, and scenes from our Maine tournaments. Needless to say, as we mark the four-year anniversary of chessmane.net, we are thankful for the spark and visibility that the website has given to Maine chess.

To Dick, Steve, Roger, and Dan, thank you and keep your enthusiasm and passion for chess alive.