04.19.21 Sixty-nine competitors and thirteen tournament directors turned out an incredible effort to make the Maine Scholastic Team Chess Championship happen online on April 10, 2021. Eleven schools were represented in the tournament that ranged from as far south as Standish and as far north as Bangor. The schools in the tournament competed for the opportunity to win the George Cunningham Trophies, the prize reserved for Maine's scholastic team champions. This year, the trophies are in the process of being remade in custom fashion, and this year's winners will be the first to take those trophies to their schools.

Thanks to Michael Dudley for contributing to this report.

Final Results K-5 and K-8

The tournament started with a twist. After conferencing with the coaches in the tournament, it became apparent that the match play format originally intended would not function well for the tournament environment, and the tournament was switched back to a team-restricted Swiss in two sections. Thanks to the technological savvy of Oisin O'Searcoid, and the diligent work of the coaches in the field, the day ran smoothly and all games were completed without incident. This group of competitors proved that a smooth tournament with fair play is not only possible, but can be done while having fun!

In the K-8 section, Cohen Middle School (14.5) enjoyed dominant performances from Joshua Lorenzo (4.0/4), Jacob Klein (3.5/4), Ethan Yu (3.0/4), Zafir Bashir (3.0/4), and Mathew Davis (1.0/4) to earn the middle school title. Following close behind were Orono Middle School and Glenburn School, tying for second place with 12.5 points apiece. Glenburn won second place on tiebreaks.

In the K-5 section, Captain Albert Stevens School (15.5) of Belfast edged out Camden-Rockport Elementary School (14.5) to notch their first state title. The team from Captain Albert Stevens School saw solid play from Lucas Canning (3.5/4), Avery Gobin (3.0/4), Avery Adams (3.0/4), Alexander Miller (3.0/4), and Silas Ociepka (3.0/4) on their way to the title. In their debut, Brunswick's elementary contingent scored 9.0 points to earn third place.

The monumental effort would not have been possible without the work of several coaches and tournament directors. The Maine Chess Association would like to thank Oisin O'Searcoid (Bonny Eagle), Kate Ervin (Camden-Rockport), Jacquie Gage (RSU 71), Jean Lawlis (RSU 71), Bruce Haffner (Lincolnville Central School), Sharon Klein (Bangor), Ryan Tripp (Orono), Nathan Tefft (Brunswick), Tom Coleman (Glenburn School), Mary Penfold (Deer Isle-Stonington) Jeffrey Borland (Longfellow Elementary), Pavel Sulyandziga (Boothbay Harbor), Justin Mazur (Camden-Rockport), and Samantha Mortlock (Camden-Rockport). This tournament was made possible out of their hard work to become certified tournament directors and work to secure good spaces for their students to play

Congratulations to all the competitors in these two sections! We will move on to preparing for the high school section of the Maine Scholastic Team Chess Championship, which will take place at United Technologies Center in Bangor on May 22, 2021!