01.17.17 The second meeting of the Bangor Area High School Scholastic Chess League on Friday, January 13, 2017 at John Bapst Memorial High School saw participation increase by 50%! This newly formed league offers the opportunity for high school players in the area to participate in interscholastic chess competition, leading up to the state team and individual tournaments at the University of Maine Orono in March.

Thanks to Elizabeth Mock for contributing to this report.

Due to time constraints and several excellent games going down to the wire, only two rounds of G25 were completed (of the three planned). Accelerated pairings were used. Participants included students from Hermon High School, coached by Ryan Garbe and John Bapst Memorial High School, coached by Michael Dudley. Mr. Dudley once again kindly agreed to play to even up the numbers.

Results (in order of tie breaks): Wyatt Hendrix (HER) with 2.0, then Benjamin Mock (homeschool) 1.5 and Bill Hartt (HER) 1.5. Finishing with 1.0: Michael Dudley (faculty), Ian Kelly (HER), Liana Shaw (HER), Sean Adams (JB), Logan Arsenault (JB). Coming in at 0.5: Reagan Partridge (HER) and Jordyn Robinson (HER). Rounding out the field were: Linh Nguyen (JB) and Daegan Purvis (HER). Nguyen, the Bapst one board, was the unfortunate recipient of accelerated pairings against both Hendrix and Hartt.

At the end of the meet, the coaches and players all agreed that G/25 was a bit quick and for the next meeting on January 27th, players will be matched for one G/60 game which will mimic the state tournament format. No entry fee is required and outreach continues to all area high schools with an interest in chess. Teams and individuals are welcome and the January 27th start time has been revised to 3:00 p.m.

Players enjoyed fine playing conditions in the quiet and well-lit library.