10.21.19 Over the weekend of October 11-14, 2019, the Maritime Chess Festival took place in the beautiful community of Summerside, Prince Edward Island. The Festival, which offered five separate tournaments: Blitz, Open, Junior, Amateur, and Senior as well as other chess-related and sightseeing events, went off swimmingly thanks to the hard work and dedication of many. Particular thanks and kudos go to the Festival's chief organizer Fred McKim of the Maritime Chess Center in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

Thanks to Fred McKim for contributing to this report.

Canadian Chess Federation Crosstable of this event

Twenty-four games from the top boards in the tournament (Click on the upper right round and board numbers to select games.)

Maritime Blitz
Results from the first Maritime Chess Festival event are in. Jordan Capello was red hot, clinching 1st place with a round to spare. Second went to Jason Manley. Class prizes went to Walter MacNeil (U1800) and Channing Guo (U1500). Eighteen players competed in this section.

Maritime Junior
Twenty-one players came out for the Maritime Junior Championship today at the Maritime Chess Festival. First place went to Zihe Fu (PE), second to Shreyas Balaskrishnan (NS) and third to newcomer Larissa Stevenson (NB).

Maritime Amateur
We had eighteen players at the Maritime Amateur Championship. Ethan Saunders (NB) edged out Conrad MacNeil (NS) for 1st place in the U1700 section. In the U1200 group, Ivan Wang took 1st, followed by Tiernan Dewar, and Andreas Doemer (NB) in 3rd.

Maritime Junior
Six gray-headed distinguished gentlemen came out for the Maritime Senior. Laurie Parker (NS) took 1st place with 4.0 points. Half a point off the lead was Peter Turner (NB).

Maritime Open
After three grueling days of Maritime Open play, Bill Bogle emerged at the top of the standings with a final score of 5.5/ 6. Second was Jason Manley and third was Richard Bowes. All three are from NB. Tied for U2200 & U2000 were Roger Langen (NS), Peter Turner (NB), Samuel Heran-Boily (NS), Philippe Cliche (NB), Daniel Mallais (NB) and Steve Saunders (NS). Winners of unshared class prizes were Derek Vihvelin (NB), Andy Wang (NS), and Nita Patel (NH) for Under 1800, 1600, and 1400 respectively.

I think I can speak on behalf of the chess players and say everyone was beyond impressed with the show we put on for them. Ryan Steele and I are thinking ahead for 2020--maybe a PEI Open, before going really big for 2021 and the opening of the onsite hotel.

Thanks to all who helped make this event a great success.

Mayor Basil Stewart opening the Maritime Chess Festival. Can you spot the stalwart Maine chess tournament player in this image?

You guessed it! That's Lance Beloungie in his trademark chess cap.

More players with ties to Maine: Nita Patel (left) and Alex Relyea prepare to begin round one.

The top boards were broadcast on the Internet and displayed in the tournament room using DGT technology.

More photos on the Martime Chess Festival's Facebook page