12.01.20 Here's an update from Maine Chess Association president Michael Dudley.

FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK
1 December 2020

Happy belated Thanksgiving!

Despite the pandemic, chess in Maine finds a way to continue; the lay of the land is so much different from the last large tournament held in Maine: Team Scholastics, in March 2020. While a small number of over-the-board tournaments have moved forward as 2020 comes to a close, much of our interaction with the game has come online, and what a time it has been. This message to the wider world serves two purposes: to celebrate the achievements of Maine players as chess continues here in Maine, and to make an appeal for help on this Giving Tuesday.

Now, to celebrate some incredible work done by our Maine chess players and organizers! I first want to celebrate the achievements of our scholastic individual nominees: Miles Kaplan, Maine's first Rockefeller nominee; Declan Thomas, Maine's Barber nominee; Isaac Dinnerstein, Maine's Denker nominee; and Zoe Dinnerstein, Maine's Haring nominee! These four players participated in the online renditions of the 2020 National Individual Scholastic Championships, representing Maine on the national stage. Congratulations to our nominees!

Next, I'd like to extend congratulations to those who played in the first ever States Cup, organized by Saumik Narayanan of Minnesota. This cup format brought together teams from more than 30 states across the country in match play, complete with streaming work for all matches. To pull together this many teams for competition is a great feat, and I'd like to congratulate Maine's team members for the completion of a great States Cup season: captain Wyatt Hendrix, NM Matthew Fishbein, Aaron Spencer, Ben Amar, Bill Hartt, Tommy Owen, and Tristan Cousineau.

For over-the-board play, I would like to thank Nita Patel, Steve Wong, Wyatt Hendrix and Declan Thomas for their work in organizing tournaments that were safe and within the guidelines for gatherings published by both the Maine CDC and the Maine Chess Association; their efforts to keep over-the-board chess alive and well in Maine are to be congratulated. I also wish to thank Wyatt Hendrix for his work in organizing a community listserv for Maine's players, which has been invaluable for coordinating rides, news, and other logistics in our community!

Finally, I want to congratulate Dr. Pavel Sulyandziga for his organizing work in executing two online matches between Maine players and players from the Republic of Tuva in southeastern Russia, and the Tromsø Chess Club in Norway. Both matches featured teams of 20 players, all of whom played great chess and represented Maine well. I also would like to thank the Tromsø Chess Club for their help in organizing a stream and publishing the results of that match.

These chess endeavors and others would not be possible if not for the amazing work that our players do here. I want to extend my great thanks to them, and to everyone I haven't mentioned who keep chess alive in Maine.
Next, I am writing this message as an appeal. The Maine Chess Association (MECA) is a dues-driven, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, with the mission of promoting chess in all forms in Maine. If you are reading this and you want to help us continue that mission, I am appealing to you for donations or for you to join MECA. MECA promotes chess in Maine in several ways, and your donations and dues help all of them. Here are just a few:

Maintaining and running the state chess clearinghouse and news source, ChessMaine.net;
Maintaining MECA's status with US Chess as an official state affiliate;
Funding and organizing the State Championship, our State Scholastic Championships, and other MECA tournaments;
Building the funds for the Roger J. Morin Scholarship Fund;
Maintaining online affiliate presences on chess.com and other platforms.

As you can see, we do all of this with your help; your donations and dues make a huge difference to keep us running to serve the Maine chess community! If you are interested in donating or joining, here is how you can do it:

Dues and donations can be paid by credit card at the ChessMaine.net store maine-chess-association.square.site (an adult membership is $12 and a scholastic membership is $6 for a year);
Checks can be sent to Maine Chess Association headquarters (email mainechesspresident@gmail.com for the address);
Donations can also be made over PayPal to mainechesspresident@gmail.com;
Maine Chess Association is listed as a charity for donations with transactions on both PayPal and Amazon Smile; simply search for the Maine Chess Association in either place to set up donations that are linked to your purchases.

Donations to MECA can be designated to our general fund or earmarked for a specific purpose. If you wish to give for a specific purpose, please include a note that indicates that specific purpose. I hope you'll consider lending your support to MECA so that we can continue to work on behalf of Maine's chess community!

Happy Holidays to you and yours; I wish you all the best and hope to see you over the board!

Sincerely yours,

Michael Dudley
President
Maine Chess Association