6/24/24 On Saturday, June 22, 2024, the first of its kind Maine K-8 Scholastic Bughouse Championship was played at the Chess Camp Barn in Hope, Maine. Eight players and four teams competed: two from Camden-Rockport Elementary School, one from Giving Tree Learning Center in Camden, and a hybrid team of one player from Camden-Rockport Elementary School and one from South Routt Elementary School in Yampa, Colorado. Here's a tournament report of the results.

Thanks to Bruce Haffner for contributing to this report.

Bughouse chess, also known as Twin, Swap, or Exchange chess, is a popular chess variant played by four players divided into two-person teams. Teammates work together to checkmate their opponents or cause them to forfeit on time in a usually blitz time control format.

Players from the same team play as different colors. Once a piece is captured, players can give that piece to their partner. A teammate then can keep that piece reserved for later. At any point, they can use their move to put the captured piece on the board and use it to their advantage! This procedure is called "dropping" a piece. Dropping pieces can even save you from being checkmated. What would usually be an inescapable situation in a regular game of chess can be avoided in Bughouse, if you have a piece to help you. Note, however, that players cannot drop pawns on the first or eighth ranks.

And now for the results of Maine's first-ever K-8 Scholastic Team Bughouse Championship!

First Place: Emma and Miles Mazur, Giving Tree Learning Center Camden, Maine

Second Place: Jack Mortlock, Camden-Rockport Elementary School and Dominic (exhibition), South Routt Elementary School

Third Place: Sewell and Theron Peet, Camden-Rockport Elementary School

Forth Place: Amos Richards & Jack James Camden-Rockport Elementary School

Congratulations to all players and thanks to the organizers and volunteers!

The official crosstable of the event!