01.13.20 A whopping eighty-four players turned out for Maine's first chess tournament of the year. The four round four section Bob Solinger Memorial was played on Saturday, January 11th at John Bapst Memorial High School in Bangor. Top finishers were: Open Tristan Cousineau, U1500 Ben Penfold and Kevin Lin, U1000 Jacob Klein, U600 Rachel Norment and Emma Eckert. The tournament remembers and honors former John Bapst chess team coach Bob Solinger who passed away on September 23, 2011.

Thanks to Michael Dudley for contributing to this report.

US Chess Crosstable of this event

It was a great way to kick off the new chess year! A healthy attendance, good friends, and interesting chess made the Bob Solinger Memorial Tournament a great success.

We would like to thank all those who participated and all the volunteers, parents, coaches, drivers, organizers and the four US Chess certified tournament directors who helped assure everything ran smoothly.

All four sections at the tournament consisted of four rounds, and were played at a time control of game in 45 minutes with a 5 second delay on each move.

In the eleven-player Open section, Tristan Cousineau (1630) began the tournament with a draw vs Dan Robbins (1771) then went on to win three straight to finish the tournament with 3.5 points and clear first place. Cousineau was trailed by Wyatt Hendrix (1869) and Ben Mock (1673) who finished equal second with 2.5 points apiece.

Of the fourteen players in the U1500 section, Ben Penfold (1076) and Kevin Li (1053) shared the top spot with 3.5 points. A three-way tie for third ensued between Oisin O'Searcoid (1096), Declan Thomas (1088), and Miles Kaplan (1015) each scoring 3.0 points..

Jacob Klein (790) turned in a perfect 4.0 to take clear first place in the seventeen-player U1000 section. The four players to share equal second with 3.0 points were: Mason Woodman (839), Andrew Castellanos (727), John Hoang (773), and Tony Huang (745).

The largest section of the tournament was the forty-three player U600 section. Rachel Norment (352) and Emma Eckert (229) finished tied for first with an unbeaten and untied score of 4.0 points. Just off the lead with 3.5 points and finishing in third was Christopher Byrne (480).

If this tournament is any indication, Maine chess is looking forward to a great year in 2020!

Action in the U600 section while coach Ryan Tripp works in the background.

Hanneke Pellerin of Penobscot Christian School plays Caleb Davenport of Bonny Eagle while Hayden O'Connell of Bapst moves to his board.

Andrew Wendell plays Frances Bayless in the U600 section.

Tournament Director Michael Dudley engages in a selfie while the action proceeds in Round 3 of the U600, the largest section of the tournament at 43 players.

Battle of the Coaches: Bonny Eagle coach Oisin O'Searcoid faces off against Penobscot Christian School coach Matthew Pellerin.

The U1000 and U600 sections, with others from the Open and U1500!

Tom Sandford considers his position in his final round game against Wyatt Hendrix.

Nathan Gates (right) and Stephen Morse cheerfully do battle in the Open section.

Taylor Staples (Deer Isle-Stonington) and Kaiden Tillman (Bonny Eagle) face off in round 3 of the U600. Peter Clark (John Bapst) and Magnolia Harms (Massabesic MS) are on the next board.

Andrew Castellanos (John Bapst) faces Swaroop Handral (Brewer) in round 3 of the U1000 section.

Samuel Robbins (Deer Isle-Stonington) faces Finley Whiting (Bonny Eagle) in the U600.

Micah Kenerson takes on Grey Meyerson in the U600.

Ethan Yu faces off against Jaxson Sprowl (Bonny Eagle), and Michael Mai (John Bapst) takes on Samuel Coldwell (Bonny Eagle) in the U1000.

Games in the U600: Emma Eckert (Orono Middle School) and Keith Falkner (Bonny Eagle); and Daniel Pellerin (Penobscot Christian) and Tyler Doyer (Bonny Eagle).

Owen Maguire and Aaron Lamoreau, and Walker Bayless and Parker Black, face off in the U1500 section.

U600 third place participant Christopher Byrne (Bonny Eagle Middle School) with tournament director Kate Ervin.

U1000 third place participant Andrew Castellanos (John Bapst).

U600 second place participant Emma Eckert (Orono Middle School).

U1000 winner Jacob Klein (Cohen Middle School).

U600 winner Rachel Norment (John Bapst).

U1000 second place participant Mason Woodman (Deer Isle-Stonington High School).