12/02/25 Forty-four players competed across the Open, Under-1400, and Under-800 sections at the 5th Annul SoPo Chess Tournament held on Saturday, November 22, 2025 at South Portland High School creating a very competitive scene for all players. All three sections saw tight races at the top with multiple ties, and strong performances from players. Here's the illustrated tournament report with US Chess crosstables.

>> US Chess Crosstable of this event <<

Thank you to Jacoby Grotton for contributing to this report.

The Open section ended with a hard-fought tie for first place. Aaron Spencer and Wyatt Hendrix each finished with 3.5/4, maintaining their momentum throughout the day. Close behind was NM Matthew Fishbein at 3.0/4, followed by Jacoby Grotton with 2.5/4, rounding out the top group.

Four players tied at 2.0/4 -- William Ravn, Samuel Lewis, Dimitri Smalley, and Kody McGregor -- keeping the middle of the pack extremely competitive throughout all rounds.

The U1400 section also produced a first-place tie, with Bruce Sherwood and Shaurya Kumar both scoring 3.5/4. Oscar Karolkowski secured third with 3.0/4, while James Hardy, Elena Pike, and Logan Levesque got an impressive 2.0/4.

The U800 section featured the only perfect score of the event, with Azrael Bullock finishing 4.0/4. A large group followed at 3.0/4, consisting of Holton Kang, Noah Kay, Silvio Cimato, Lucas Haddad, Nicolas Brown, Lucas Rogers, and Theodore Bakis -- a strong cluster that kept the top boards crowded all day.

A solid mid-section group at 2.0/4 included Sullivan Sweet, Owen McLain, Victoria Araujo, Oliver Stanczyc, and Georgie Morse.

Thank you to everyone who decided to come out! Every player contributes to Maine chess as a whole so we thank you!

NM Matthew Fishbein (right) vs Jacoby Grotton in Round 1 of the Open.

Oscar Karolkowski (lft) of South Portland High School vs Bruce Sherwood in Round 4 of the U1400. Bruce would go on to win this match to win the U1400 section with 3.5 points.

Azrael Bullock (left) from Lewiston High School vs Teddy Bakis from Cape Elizabeth MS in Round 1 of the U800. Azrael would go a perfect 4-0 on the day to win the U800.