02.27.22 Twenty-two chess players, including Kathy Richards herself, gathered in Brunswick to play in the Richards Maine Girls' Chess Championship and the fourth Maine Women's Championship. The Richards is Maine's nominating tournament for the WIM Ruth Haring National Girls' Tournament of Champions, held this year in Rancho Mirage, California, and the Susan Polgar Invitational, held at Webster University in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Thanks to Mike Dudley for contributing to this report.\

US Chess crosstable of this event

Fifty years to the month of winning the first Maine Girls' Championship and receiving the trophy from George Cunningham, Kathy Richards brought that inaugural trophy to Brunswick's Curtis Memorial Library to reunite it with a new generation of female players.

Twenty-two of those players, including Kathy Richards herself, gathered in Brunswick to play in the Richards Maine Girls' Chess Championship and the fourth Maine Women's Championship. The Richards is Maine's nominating tournament for the WIM Ruth Haring National Girls' Tournament of Champions, held this year in Rancho Mirage, California, and the Susan Polgar Invitational, held at Webster University in Saint Louis, Missouri.

This year, Tala Bayless of Belgrade (3.5/4) edged out Zoe Dinnerstein of Cape Elizabeth (3.5/4) on tiebreaks to earn the right of first refusal for the nominations to the Haring and the Polgar; Dinnerstein shared the title with Bayless and earned first alternate status. Molly Tefft of Brunswick finished first among those with 3/4 and secured the second alternate position, tied with Amanda Battulga of John Bapst and Elena Pike of Kennebunk.

Kathy Richards secured her third Maine Women's Championship with a perfect 3.0/3 in a quad. Anna Thomas came in second, losing only to Richards and posting 2.0/3. Elisabeth Mock earned clear third with 1.0/3, and Shannon Levesque, who swept in at the last minute to make the quad happen, rounded out the crosstable scoreless.

With the Richards and Women's Championships in the books, Maine's scholastic chess scene turns to March, when Maine's Scholastic Chess Championships take center stage. We hope to see everyone at the Webber Cup in Buxton on March 5, the Maine Team Scholastic Chess Championships in Lewiston on March 12, and the Maine Individual Scholastic Chess Championships in Oakland on March 19!