03.15.13 Two hundred seventy-seven scholastic chess players ranging in skill level from beginner to expert came to the University of Maine Orono from all corners of the state to compete in the Scholastic Team Chess Championships on Saturday, March 9th. This nine-section, four-round event is--by far--the largest chess tournament in the state. Here's the copiously illustrated tournament report including USCF crosstables.

Thanks to Ron Lewis for contributing to this report.

2013 State Scholastic Chess Team Championships Determined

The 2013 State Scholastic Chess Team Championships were held Saturday, March 9, in the Memorial Union, University of Maine, Orono. Two hundred seventy-seven players supported by coaches and parents gathered to contest team honors in the K-3, K-6, Junior High, and High School sections. Also at stake were individual achievements leading to invitation to the Individual Championships to be held at the same location on March 23. Each player competed in four games with team honors decided by total points scored for the four games or, in the case of the High School Championship section, by head-to-head match play.

In the K-3 championship section, team honors were decided by the total of the team's top three scorers. The winning team was the Breakwater School team (9 points) over second place Deer Isle-Stonington (DIS - 7.5 points). Top scorers for Breakwater were Max Hogenauer, Sampson Pfeffer, Dax Penny, and Davis Drown, all with three points each. Top scorers for DIS were Henry Penfold with 3 points while Brayden Martn, McHenna Martin, Thomas Thompson, Trace Brophy, and Sean Morey all scored 2 points each. The top scoring girl was McHenna Martin, and the top player was Cyrus Grindal of Airline School. Scoring 3 points or better for a free entry to the Individual Tournament on March 23 were Cyrus Grindal of Airline, Henry Penfold of DIS, Matthew Leighton of Cape Elizabeth, and Max Hogenauer, Sampson Pfeffer, Dax Penny, and Davis Drown of Breakwater. The top unrated was Matthew Leighton of Cape Elizabeth.

In the K-6 championship section, with team scores being the total of each team's five top scorers, Deer Isle-Stonington narrowly captured its fourth straight K-6 Team title, besting second place Breakwater School 15 to 14.5. Top team scorers for Deer Isle-Stonington included: Ben Penfold with 4 points, Rylee Eaton and Myles Brown with 3 points each, and Wyatt Eaton and Cole Stewart with 2.5 points each. The Breakwater team high scorers were Ian Youth and Eric Youth with 4 points each, Matthew Hogenauer with 3 points, Oliver Sullivan with 2 points, and Charlie Van West and Max Ryan with 1.5 points. The top girl scorer not on a winning team was Kaylee Morey of DIS. The top unrated players in this section were Elijah McGill of Orono and Joshua Watson of Glenburn with 3 points each. Thirteen players scored 3 points or better, earning them a free entry into the Individuals Tournament on March 17. These were: Ian and Eric Youth, and Matthew Hogenauer of Breakwater; Ben Penfold, Rylee Eaton, and Myles Brown of DIS; Michael Hayden of All-Saints; Cody Ross, Brent Roberts, and Omar Khan of Brewer; Elijah McGill of Orono; Milo Sanokklis of Levy Day School; and Joshua Watson of Glenburn..

In the Elementary Novice section, the winning K-3 team was Stillwater edging out Levey Day School 8.5 to 7.5. The top individual performer was Cameron Parlee of Stillwater with four wins in four games. Other Stillwater team members were Siama Ahmed, Meghan Guebi, and Elizabeth Shum. For the Levey Day School Knights team members were Zoe Dinnerstein, Jacob Lucier, Hannelore Sanokklis, and Maddik Weisberg. In the K-6 Novice section, DIS emerged ahead of Belfast by just a half-point, 9 to 8.5. Top scorers for DIS were Dakota Emrick, Tommy Hutchinson, and Jacob Gell. Top scorers for Belfast were Ilianna Kahn, Brian Rollerson, and Josh Chun. The top performer was Dakota Emrick with 4 points.

In the Junior High Championship section, Deer-Isle Stonington squeaked ahead of Orono Middle School, 14 to 13.5. Top scorers for Deer-Isle Stonington were Orly Vaughn, Soozin Cha, Brendan Penfold, Kinsey Bartlett, and Tyson Rice. Top scorers for Orono Middle School were Nathan Shemwell, Ben Amar, Gregory Dimoulas, Joseph Astumian, and Josiah Grace. The top players were Orly Vaughn and Soozin Cha of DIS and Nathan Shemwell of Orono, each with four points. Top unrated (not on a winning team) was a tie between Nick Thompson of Glenburn and Joseph Powell of Medomak
while Nathan Shemwell led all unrateds. The top female (not on a winning team) was Catherine Rudnicki of the All-Saints in Bangor. Twelve players scored 3 points or better to be eligible to return to the Individuals with free entry: Orly Vaughn and Soozin Cha of DIS; Nathan Shemwell, Ben Amar, and Gregory Dimoulas of Orono; Joseph Powell of Medomak; Catherine Rudnicki of All-Saints; Max DeLuca Lowell of Airline; Nathan Thompson and Nick Thompson of Glenburn; Stuart Mackay of Stillwater; and Jacob Cote of Brewer.

Piscataquis took first place in the JHS Novice section, beatingt Buscksport 12 to 5 points. Members of the winning team were: Bradyn Fellows, Billy Griffith, David Hession, and Cody Randall. Members for the Bucksport team were: Krishna Cloutier, Richard Ludgon, William Meehan, and Danial Gorczy. The top performers were Billy Griffith and Cody Randall of Piscataquis, each with 4 points, with Billy receiving the trophy on tie-breaks.

Elementary and JHS players in the championship sections who scored 3 points or better are invited back to play in the Individual Championships on March 17 at with no entry fee. Any other individual may enter by paying the entry fee. Information and entry forms are available at www.ChessMaine.net.

In the High School Championship section, Cape Elizabeth emerged undefeated in match play with 4 match points to win the State HS Team title. The Cape team consisted of Matthew Fishbein, Brett Parker, Matthew Reale-Hatem, Ben Hansel, and Colin Smith. Tied for second place were DIS and Bangor with three match points each. On tie-breaks, the second place trophy was awarded to DIS. The DIS team included Cameron Wendell, Sam Grindle, Andrew Turner, Hayden Ciomei, and Connor Morey. Members of the Bangor team were: Josh Audibert, Paul Rudnicki, Patrick Coyne, Nathan Dee, and Andy Chen. Criteria for invitation to the Individuals for the High School Championship and Reserve sections were to score 3 points or better on Board 1, or 3.5 points or better on any other board. Invited back to Individuals on March 23 with no entry fee on this basis are: Matthew Fishbein, Brett Parker Matthew Reale-Hatem and Colin Smith of Cape Elizabeth; Nathan Dee of Bangor; and Cameron Wendell and Hayden Ciomei of DIS. The top unrated player was Ethan Lowe of George Steven Academy. The top female performer was Haley DeLuca Lowell, and she receives an invitation to the Individuals as well.

In the HS Reserve section, Van Buren and DIS tied with 10 points each, with Van Buren getting the first place trophy and tie-breaks. The Van Buren Reserve team high scorers included Richard Michaud, Nicholas Lajoie, and Cody Maldonado. Scorers for DIS were Nick Eaton, Kris Melanio, and Nathan Davis. Top scorers included Nicholas Lajoie of Van Buren and Kris Melanio of DIS, each with 4 points. These two are invited back to Individuals with no entry fee.

In the High School Novice section, new-comer Deering High defeated Bucksport 10 to 9. The high scorers for Deering were Thoalfakar Alsaady; Hital Ahmad, and Qutaiba Hasson. The Bucksport top scorers included Adam Bohlen, Doug Gavelek, and Randy LaRue. Top performer in this section with 4 points was Thoalfakar Alsaady.

Tournament Leaders were Kathy Richards for the Elementary and Junior High Sections, and Kurt Klappenbach for the High School. Tournament Directors were Dan DeLuca for the K-3 section, Steve Wong for K-6, Barry Magda for the JHS, Philip Lowell for High School Championship and Reserve sections, and Tom Sandford for the all Novice sections. Trophy awards were coordinated by Andy Bryan. These were supported by a number of other volunteers, parents and coaches.

The next event on the State scholastic chess schedule is on March 23 when the State Scholastic Chess Individual Championships will be contested, with the Maine State representative to the USCF National Denker High School Invitational and a representative to the Barber JHS Invitational will be decided. A side event, the Sidekick Quads, will also be held on March 23 for adults. The proceeds of the Sidekick Quads will benefit Maine scholastic chess. All events will be held at the Memorial Union, University of Maine, Orono. Visit ChessMaine.net for information and entry forms, and pictures from the team championships.

K-3 Championship USCF Crosstable

K-6 Championship USCF Crosstable

Jr. High School Championship USCF Crosstable

High School Championship USCF Crosstables

High School Reserve USCF Crosstable

Matthew Fishbein of Cape Elizabeth (right) accepts Josh Audibert's (Bangor) resignation to give Cape Elizabeth the high school team championship title.

The last round match-up between Bangor High School (left) and Cape Elizabeth High School, both of whom had 3.0 match points, would decide this year's high school team champions.

Board 4 finishes with a come-from-behind win for Bangor. Match Score: Bangor 1 Cape Elizabeth 0

Colin Smith (right) wins for Cape on Board 5. Match Score: Bangor 1 Cape Elizabeth 1

Matthew Reale-Hatem (left) wins another one for Cape. Match Score: Bangor 1 Cape Elizabeth 2

Board 2 played between Bangor's Paul Rudnicki (right) and Cape's Brett Parker ends in a well-played draw. Match Score: Bangor 1.5 Cape 2.5

And then there was one. Matthew Fishbein (left) of Cape Elizabeth makes a move that causes Bangor's Josh Audibert to resign their board 1 game. Final Match Score: Bangor 1.5 Cape Elizabeth 3.5

Co-Runners-Up with Bangor High School, Deer Isle-Stonington High School (right) plays Cape Elizabeth High School under the watchful eye of their coach Isaac Marnik.

A closer look at Cape Elizabeth (left) vs Deer Isle-Stonington

Board 1 Cape Elizabeth: Matthew Fishbein

Board 2 Cape Elizabeth: Brett Parker

Board 3 Cape Elizabeth: Matthew Reale-Hatem

Board 4 Cape Elizabeth: Ben Hansel

Board 5 Cape Elizabeth: Colin Smith

Co-Runners-Up Deer Isle Stonington's Board 1: Cameron Wendell

DIS Board 2: Sam Grindle

DIS Board 3: Andrew Turner

DIS Board 4: Hayden Ciomei

DIS Board 5: Conner Morey

Co-Runners-Up Bangor High School's Board 1 Josh Audibert

Bangor Board 2: Paul Rudnicki

Bangor Board 3: Patrick Coyne

Bangor Board 4: Nathan Dee

Bangor Board 5: Andy Chen

John Bapst Memorial High School (left) battles Orono High School.

Bapst Board 1: Bach Nguyen

Bapst Board 2: Haley DeLuca Lowell

Bapst Board 3: Anna Bryan

Bapst Board 4: Matthew Spear

Bapst Board 5: Gunnar Heckler

Orono Board 1: Zach Hamilton

Orono Board 2: Jason Chubbuck

Orono Biard 4: Seam McAvoy

Orono Board 5: Weisheng Chen

Cheverus High School Board 1: Conner Maines

Cheverus Board 2: Frank Jin

Cheverus Board 3: Spencer Desrochers

Cheverus Board 4: Ben Peterson

Cheverus Board 5: Greyson Potter

Rick Perry: top board for Caribou High School

Caribou Board 2: David Hunter

Caribou Board 3: Caleb Hunter

Caribou Board 4: Nolan Powers

Caribou Board 5: Andrew Brown

Westbrook's Ace Ian Murray

Westbrook Board 2: Ben Touchette

Westbrook Board 4: Garrett Gilliard

Westbrook Board 5: Gabe Maxwell

George Stevens Academy Board 1: William Cheng

GSA Board 2: Terry Tian

GSA Board 3: Ian Henderson

GSA Board 4: Ethan Lowe

GSA Board 5: Devon Oppeisano

Brewer High School's Top Board: Noah Laplante

Brewer Board 2: John Jewel

Brewer Board 3: Greg Warmuth

Brewer Board 4: Adam Farrington

Brewer Board 5: Nick Charalambous

Action in the High School Reserve Section

Orono High School coach Max Berube keeps close watch on his team's performance...

as does Bangor High School coach Jon Dearing.

A view of the high school championship section in the University of Maine's Memorial Union.

Cape Elizabeth coach Dan Fishbein (left) chats with Cheverus coach Dan Lavallee.

Just off the tournament room was what must be the largest skittles room in the state.

Girl Power! Bapst boards 2 and 3: Haley DeLuca Lowell (left) and Anna Bryan

Caribou (left) faces off with Deer Isle-Stonington.

Jr. High School Championship section tournament director Barry Magda (left) shares a laugh with tournament coordinator and president of the Maine Association of Chess Coaches Ron Lewis.

K-3 Championship section tournament director Dan DeLuca checks out the standings in the high school section.

2013 High School Champions: Cape Elizabeth (left to right): Matthew Reale-Hatem, Ben Hansel, Brett Parker, Matthew Fishbein, coach Dan Fishbein and Colin Smith.

2013 High School Co-Runners-Up: Deer Isle Stonington (left to right): Cameron Wendell, Sam Grindle, Andrew Turner, Hayden Ciomei, Coner Morey and coach Isaac Marnik.

2013 High School Co-Runners-Up: Bangor High School (team photo coming soon)

Top unrated player in the high school championship section with 3.0 points: Ethan Gore from George Stevens Academy poses with tournament director Phil Lowell.

Top female point getter in the high school championship section Haley DeLuca Lowell gets some face time with the TD as well.

Co-Champions High School Reserve: Van Buren (left to right): Nicholas Lajoie, coach Steven Giangiordano, Richard Michaud, Devin Berry, Derek Grivios and Cody Maldonado.

Co-Champions in the High School Reserve: Deer Isle Stonington (left to right): Nick Siebert, Krisford Melanio, Nathan Davis, Nick Eaton, Noah Davis and Noah Gillen (not pictured Cody Eaton).

High School Novice Champions: Deering High School (left to right): Orkhan Nadirli, Shervin Sabetti, Hilal Ahmed, Qutaiba Hassoon, Thoalfakar Alsaady (highest scoring player in the section with 4.0 points), Risopheak Rodriguez and coach Jeff Borland. Coach Borland informs us that all of these players are new to the US having been here for less than three years.

High School Novice Runners-Up: Bucksport High School (left to right): Dan Juric, Kaitlynn Arey, Doug Gavelek, Makala Boyer, Adam Bohlen, Mia Vierthaler and Randy LaRue.

Action in the HIgh School Novice section.

Jr. High School Champions: Deer Isle-Stonington (left to right): Kinsey Bartlett, Tyson Rice, SooZin Cha, Orly Vaughn, Avery Reynolds, Brendan Penfold, Ennis Marshall and coach Dick Powell.

Jr. High School Runners-Up: Orono Middle School (left to right): Josaih Grace, Austin Smith, coach Ryan Tripp, Gregory Dimoulas, Ben Amar, Nathan Shemwell, Saadh Ahmed and Joseph Astumian.

Nick Thompson of Glenburn tied with Joseph Powell of Medomak as the top scoring unrated players in the Jr. High School Championship section and...

Catherine Rudnicki of All Saints School took home the trophy for the highest scoring girl not on a trophy-winning team.

Gregory Dimoulas, Orono Middle School

Brendan Penfold, Deer Isle-Stonington

Orly Vaughn, Deer Isle-Stonington

Ben Amar, Orono Middle School

SooZin Cha, Deer Isle-Stonington

Nick Thompson, Glenburn

Nathan Shemwell, Orono Middle School

Catherine Rudnicki, All Saints

Kinsey Bartlett, Deer Isle-Stonington

Joseph Powell, Medomak

Nathan Thompson, Glenburn

Zachary Grindal, Airline School

Stuart MacKay, Stillwater Montessori

Josaih Grace, Orono Middle School

Travis Terra, Glenburn

Max DeLuca Lowell, Airline School

Isaiah Sprague, Brewer Middle School

Avery Reynolds, Deer Isle-Stonington

Adam Gagnon, Brewer Middle School

Ryan Watson, Glenburn

Drew Thibodeau, All Saints

Tyson Rice, Deer Isle-Stonington

Brandon Parlee, Stillwater Montessori

John Donnelly, Brewer Middle School

Joseph Astumian, Orono Middle School

Logan Severance, Brewer Middle School

Jacob Cote, Brewer Middle School

Grant Bodine, Medomak

Ennis Marshall, Deer Isle-Stonington

Nate Wilcox, Brewer Middle School

Erin Gerbi, Stillwater Montessori

Ahmed Saadh, Orono Middle School

Sam Fournier, Medomak

Oliver Sheehan, Airline

Kylee Atwood, Bucksport

Austin Smith, Orono Middle School

Eamon Laskey, Stillwater Montessori

Greg Wadsworth, Medomak

Kyle Olson, Medomak

David Fernandez, All Saints

Jr. High School Novice Champions: Piscatiquis Community Secondary School (left to right): Billy Griffith, Bradyn Fellows, Cody Randall and David Hession. Hesson and Griffith tied for highest scorer in the section.

Jr. High School Novice Runners-Up: Bucksport Middle School (left to right): Kristina Cloutier, Richard Lugdon, Willy Meehan and Daniel Gonczy.

Novice section tournament director Tom Sandford did Yeoman's work juggling four sections and countless players.

2013 Elementary Team Champions: Deer Isle Stonington

Independent filmmaker Veronica Young interviews Deer Isle-Stonington Elementary player Kaylee Morey.

Elementary Championship tournament director Steve Wong works up some last minute calculations before distributing trophies.

Rylee Eaton, Deer Isle Stonington

Ian Youth, Breakwater

Michael Hayden, All Saints

Eric Youth, Breakwater

Ben Penfold, Deer Isle-Stonington

Isaac Dinnerstein, Levey Day School

Wyatt Eaton, Deer Isle-Stonington

Matthew Hogenauer, Breakwater

Omar Khan, Brewer

Coby Haskell, Deer Isle-Stonington

Elijah McGill, Orono

Alex Fargo, Brewer

Cody Ross, Brewer

Kaylee Morey, Deer Isle-Stonington

Myles Brown, Deer Isle-Stonington

Paul Fortier, Brewer

Milo Sanokklis, Levey Day School

River Williams, Orono

Andrew Pappianne, Deer Isle-Stonington

Brent Roberts, Brewer

Oliver Sullivan, Breakwater

Josaih Watson, Glenburn

Seamus Ravan, All Saints

Kaegan Thompson, Airline

Max Ryan, Breakwater

Ellias Veilleux, Orono

Ross Stewart, Deer Isle-Stonington

Ian Pomroy, Airline

Kell Fremiew, Orono

Noah Ravan, All Saints

Daniel Fernandez, All Saints

Cameron Stewart, Deer Isle-Stonington

Noah Umel, Brewer

Charlotte Urquhart, All Saints

Cody Jones, Airline

Samuel Kemmerer, Breakwater

Ethan Winston, Brewer

John Spaulding, Glenburn

Natalie Sheehan, Airline

Caitlyn Woodward, Brewer

Ben Fratoni, Breakwater

Cameron Ashe, All Saints

First place in the Elementary Novice section: Deer Isle-Stonington (left to right): coach Tasha Brown, Nathan Thompson, Kobe Nevells, Dakota Emrick (section high scorer with 4.0 points), Tom Hutchinson, Jacob Gell and Zachary Billings (not pictured: Annie Reynolds and Liam Bishop).

Runners-Up in the Elementary Novive section: Belfast Library Chess Club (left to right): coach Russell Kahn, Henry Saggese, Brian Rollerson, Kirk Stillman, Ilianna Kahn and Josh Chun.

Winners in the Primary Championship section: Breakwater School (left to right): Sampson Pfeffer, Davis Drown, Vivian Rallis, Oliver Chase, Max Hogenauer and Dax Penney.

Runners-Up in the Primary section: Deer Isle-Stonington

Third place in the Primary section: Airline School

Fourth place in the Primary Section: Cape Elizabeth

Top scorer in the Primary Championship section (4.0 points) Cyrus Grindal, Airline

Thomas Thompson, Deer Isle-Stonington

Brady Smith, Airline

Henry Penfold, Deer Isle-Stonington

Max Hogenauer, Breakwater

Sean Morey, Deer Isle-Stonington

Gabriel Schoewe, Cape Elizabeth

Dax Penney, Breakwater

Matthew Leighton (top unrated player in the Primary Championship section with 3.0 points), Cape Elizabeth

Trace Brophy, Deer Isle-Stonington

Sampson Pfeffer, Breakwater

McHenna Martin, Deer Isle-Stonington

Brayden Martin, Deer Isle-Stonington

Evan Gebhart, Cape Elizabeth

Davis Drown, Breakwater

Abigail Green, Airline

Oliver Chase, Breakwater

Macey Brown, Deer Isle-Stonington

Ruby DeLuca Lowell, Airline

Bowen Charlebois, Cape Elizabeth

Vivian Rallis, Breakwater

Dexter Brown, Deer Isle-Stonington

Action in the Primary Championship section

Winners in the Primary Novice section: Stillwater Montessori School (left to right): coach Al Duplessis, Cameron Parlee (top scorer in the Primary Novice section), Megan Gerbi and Saima Ahmed.

Runners-Up in the Primary Novice section: Levey Day School (left to right): coach Eric Dinnerstein, Zoe Dinnerstein, Jacob Lucier and Hannelore Sanokklis (not pictured Maddik Weisberg).

Thanks to all for their contributions to this tournament especially; The Maine Association of Chess Coaches: Ron Lewis, Kathy Richards, Dick Powell, Ryan Tripp, Andy Bryan and Kurt Klappenbach, The Maine Chess Association, tournament directors: Phil Lowell, Barry Magda, Steve Wong, Dan DeLuca and Tom Sandford, The University of Maine, parents, coaches and players!