12.26.15 As we approach the ten year anniversary of ChessMaine.net on March 11, 2016, we take our annual end-of-the-year look back at all things chess in Maine for the year 2015. Some highlights include: an academic discussion on the life of Marcel Duchamp at Bowdoin College, chess at Super Bowl XLIX, ChessMaine.net and MECA featured in the Maine Sun Journal, MACC first on USCF's list of Small State Affiliates, a premier screening of the film Algorithms, the Women's World Championship, the US Championship, the Maine Championship, and ChessMaine.net receives its fourth Chess Journalists of America award. And that's just the tip of the chess iceberg!

Before we delve into chessic 2015 let's take a look at some of the important events from all over this third rock from the sun that we call home. 2015 Year in Review.

Players and directors in Maine participated in twenty-seven USCF-rated events in 2015. To see crosstables of all USCF-rated tournaments played in Maine this year please click here.

Winningest Players

The three winningest players in Maine for 2015 were: Jarod Bryan and Roger Morin (equal first) and Ben Amar (third). For our purposes, winning a section is considered a tournament win and credit is given to all players involved in a tie. Click on a player's name to view their USCF Member Detail page.

1. Jarod Bryan: 6 event wins

1. Roger Morin: 6 event wins

3. Ben Amar: 4 event wins

Most Active Player

Maine's most active player in 2015 was William Ravn with an impressive thirty-five tournament starts--that's just about three tournaments a month. Activity is defined as participation in USCF-rated tournaments both over-the-board and online. Click on Will's name to view his USCF Member Detail page.

State Champions

Congratulations the 2015 Maine State Chess Champion Jarod Bryan! To see the names of all Maine state champions since 1942 please click here.

2015 Maine State Champions (All Categories)

Overall Champion: Jarod Bryan

High School Champion: Matthew Fishbein

High School U1200: Ben Amar (right)

K-8 Champion: Nathan Shemwell

K-6 Champion: Benjamin Mock


K-3 Champion: Milo Sanokklis

Cheverus High School: 2015 Maine State High School Team Champions!

High School Reserve Champions: Medomak

High School Novice Champions: Cape Elizabeth High School

2015 Maine State Junior High School Champions: Blue Hill Consolidated School!

Ellsworth Middle School took first in the Junior High School Novice section.

Maine State K-6 Champions: Deer Isle-Stonington!

Blue Hill Consolidated School: K-6 Novice Champions

2015 Maine State K-3 Champions: Brewer!

Maine Chess Player of the Year

Congratulations to 2015 Maine Chess Player of the Year Jarod Bryan (left) and to all who participated in this year-long event.

Here's the link to the 2015 Maine Chess Player of the Year Final Standings

Most Popular ChessMaine.net Stories of 2015

ChessMaine.net has received nearly half a million hits since its inception on March 11, 2006-- Based on web traffic to the site this year we've determined the following stories as the most popular of 2015. Take a second look, they're worth the read!

1. State Scholastic Team Championships Tournament Report

2. State Scholastic Individual Championships Tournament Report

3. New York City Chess Update

4. Dick Powell and Gilda Garcia Become King and Queen

5. Jarod Bryan Victorious at ChessMaine.net Championship

**The following story and video of the Blue Hill Consolidated School chess team and their coach Cameron Wendell is your web editor's pick for the 2015 ChessMaine.net must watch list.**

Cameron Wendell and BHCS Chess Club Featured in Bangor Daily News

Biggest Upsets

Congratulations to the winners of the biggest upset games played in Maine in 2015.

Here are the top three biggest upsets in USCF-rated play in Maine for 2015:

1. Kell Fremion (406) defeats Nathan Shemwell (1093) = 687 points, 16th Annual MLK Tournament

2. Ricardo Romero (750) defeats Lee Doucette (1414) = 664 points, Cheverus Quads

3. John Spaulding (123) defeats Cam Stewart (652) = 529 points, Scholastic Team Championships

Tournament Directors

Maine had nine active tournament directors in 2015. To determine the most active tournament directors, we used a summation of three factors: number of tournaments directed, number of sections directed and number of players served. Chief tournament directors are credited. Based on this criteria the following tournament directors are listed based on their directing activity in Maine for 2015. Thanks to all TDs in Maine for their hard work, dedication, and service to the Maine chess community. Thanks also to Tom Sanford who directed the non-rated novice sections at the scholastic state championship tournaments.

1. Dan DeLuca: 4 events, 15 sections, 247 players = 266

2. Steve Wong: 4 events, 17 sections, 179 players = 200

3. Phil Lowell: 2 events, 4 sections, 114 players = 120

4. Roger Morin: 7 events, 7 sections, 44 players = 58

5. Alex Relyea: 2 events, 6 sections, 47 players = 55

6. Lee Doucette: 2 events, 4 sections, 39 players = 45

7. Barry Magda: 1 event, 7 sections, 29 players = 37

8. Dan La Vallee: 1 event, 1 section, 6 players = 8

9. Brian Roderick: 1 event, 1 section, 4 players = 6

Chess Journalists of America Award

in 2015 ChessMaine.net received its fourth Chess Journalists of America award for the best USCF state affiliate website!

MECA Officers and Board

We thank the following individuals for volunteering their time and energy to MECA.

Maine Chess Association Officers

President Andy Bryan bvbryan@aol.com

Vice President Dan DeLuca dcdeluca@yahoo.com

Secretary Lee Doucette lfdoucet@maine.rr.com

Treasurer Andrey Savov bagercheto@yahoo.com

Maine Chess Association Policy Board

Matthew Fishbein matthew.fishbein@capeelizabethschools.org

Ron Lewis raltiger@aol.com

Phil Lowell lowellphilip@yahoo.com

Barry Magda bajmagda@juno.com

Thanks to all who have made 2015 a great year for chess in Maine!