08.14.17 Thirteen Maine players took part in the 47th Continental Open played on August 10-13, 2017 in Sturbridge, Mass. Chess mom and self-proclaimed chess neophyte Elisabeth Fowlie Mock attended the event, participated, and sent us this illustrated tournament report.

Thanks to Elisabeth Mock for contributing to this report.

Results from all sections

Sturbridge, Massachusetts Continental Open
Contributing author: Elisabeth Fowlie Mock, Chess Mom and Neophyte

Maine chess was again well represented at the Continental Open in Sturbridge, Massachusetts played on August 10-13, with 13 players competing in 6 of the 7 sections. The 6-round event drew over 300 players from all over the northeast. In the Open section, Matthew Fishbein finished with 3.5 points tying for 12th place and Sergio Mejia put up 2.5 points to finish equal 28th. In the Under 2100 section, Bill Hartt scored 2.5 points which was good for at tie for 34th place. In the Under 1900 section, former Maine resident (who is listed as a Mainer with USCF) John Phythyon had 3.0 points after 5 rounds. (Phythyon's last game was still in progress at the time of writing.) [John Phythyon drew his last-round game and finished the tournament with 3.5 points and a tie for 17th place in the U1900 section. --Ed.] Nathan Gates had 2.5 and Brian Hurst scored 1.0. In the Under 1700 section, Wyatt Hendrix finished at 4.5 (possibility splitting some prize money) and Armando Mejia had 4.0. [Wyatt Hendrix finished just a half point out of 1st - 4th place and received $40 for his tie for 5th place. --Ed.] In Under 1500 section, Benjamin Mock earned himself a prize share with 4.5 points, followed by Daniel Fishbein at 2.5, Linh Nguyen at 2.0 and Aiden Thomas at 2.0 There were no Mainers entered in the Under 1300 section. In the Under 1000 section, rookie Elisabeth Mock tallied only losses finishing with 0.5.

In the Saturday night Blitz tournament, Sergio Mejia took 2nd place despite having to take a bye due to his regular game still being in progress when Blitz commenced. Subsequently, he won all his games to finish with a score of 6.5/8. Matthew Fishbein was the only other Mainer in the top 10, coming in at number 7 in a field of nearly 50 players.
It is likely that this will remain a popular summer tournament for Mainers and anyone interested in attending, ride-sharing or room-sharing in 2018 can contact the Queen City Chess Club (find us on Facebook) next summer.

It's good to see Maine scholastic chess legend and now Bentley University student Matthew Fishbein back over the board.

Bill Hartt put up 2.5 points in the very competitive U2100 section.

Wyatt Hendrix turned in a fine performance finishing equal fifth in the 59-player U1700 section.

Nathan Gates scored 2.5 points in the U1900 section.

John Bapst Memorial High School student Linh Nguyen scored 2.0 points in the U1500 section.

Brian Hurst has been spotted quite often working on his game at the chess tables on the Brewer, Maine waterfront.

Armando Mejia scored 4.0 points, just a point off first place, in the U1700 section.

Aidan Thomas finished with 2.0 points in the U1500 section.

John Phythyon is still a strong and dangerous competitor. He scored 3.5 points in the U1900 section.

Dan Fishbein (aka Matthew's Dad) scored 2.5 in the U1500 section with consecutive wins in his last two rounds.

Benjamin Mock (center) took home a nice prize for finishing equal third in the 45-player U1500 section just half a point out of first place.

We thank our fearless on-site correspondent, Elisabeth Fowlie Mock, for submitting this informative and entertaining tournament report!