John Bapst students win chess titles

ORONO – Two students from John Bapst Memorial High School in Bangor brought home titles as State Scholastic Chess Champions on March 25 at the University of Maine.

Ray Solinger won the championship section, and Ben Amaral was tops among high school students with a rating of 1,200 or under. More than 100 chess players gathered at the University of Maine’s Memorial Union for the individual competitions.

The high school championship section had three former champions seeking to repeat, but by the end of the second round, four of the top five seeds had lost a game. In the last round, only Zening Chen of Orono had a clean 3-0 score, playing Ray Solinger of John Bapst with 2.5 points.

On board 2, Jordan Trundy and Fritz Eyerer, both from John Bapst and with 2.5 points each, were still in the running.

Solinger, with the black pieces, won a difficult rook-and-pawn ending to finish with 3.5 points and became the 2006 state high school champion.

Five players tied for second with 3-1 scores. On tie breaks, Chen received the second place trophy and Trundy the third place trophy. Also tied for second and receiving medals for their play were Bryant Ciomei of Deer Isle-Stonington, and Fritz Eyerer and Cullen Edes of John Bapst.

In the under-1,200 high school section, the winner, with a perfect 4-0 score, was Amaral. Three players tied for second with 3-0 scores. Taking the second place trophy on tie breaks was Scott Massidda of Marshwood High School, while Nicholas Borelli of John Bapst took the third place trophy, and Aaron Gilio received a medal.

In kindergarten-grade three, Matthew Fishbein of Pond Cove School in Cape Elizabeth scored a perfect 4-0 to win that section. Haley DeLuca Lowell of the Airline School in Aurora and Ivan Zembrusky of Deer Isle-Stonington tied for second place with 3-1 scores. On tie-breaks, DeLuca Lowell received the second place trophy, while Zembrusky took home the third-place trophy.

In the kindergarten-grade six championship section, Gianluca Pane of the Academy Hill School in Wilton returned to state competition after three years’ absence from the annual tournaments to score a perfect 4-0 to become the 2006 state elementary champion. Tied for second place were Peter Campbell of Cape Elizabeth and Paul Rudnicki of All Saints School in Bangor with 3.5 points. Campbell received the second place trophy on tie-breaks, and Rudnicki the third place trophy.

In the junior high section, Andrew Babbitt of Deer Isle Stonington scored a perfect 4-0 to become the 2006 junior high champion. Three other competitors tied for second with 3.5 points. On tie-breaks, Ian Pelletier of Deer Isle Stonington received the second place trophy, Nicolai Renedo of Orono the third place trophy, and Jeff Golding of Holbrook a medal.

In a companion adult tournament, with all proceeds going to Maine Scholastic Chess, Tom Sanford was the winner.

The tournament was hosted by the University of Maine with sponsorship by the College of Engineering, Provost-Enrollment Management and the University Women’s Studies. Tournament directors for the events were Phillip Lowell, Ralph Townsend and Lee Doucette.

Ron Lewis was the tournament leader. Trophies were coordinated by Bob Solinger. The annual State Scholastic Tournaments are overseen by the Maine Chess Coaches Association.

MCCA is also offering the first annual All-Girls Scholastic Championship on April 1 in the Bumps Room of the University of Maine Memorial Union. The winner will be eligible to represent the state of Maine at the Susan Polgar National Invitational Tournament for Girls to be held in Chicago in August. Interested participants should contact Dan DeLuca at 479-4474 or e-mail at dcdeluca@aol.com. Also see news of scholastic events on the Maine Chess Association Web site at www.mainechess.org, or on the new Web site www.ChessMaine.net.

John Bapst and Airline School are holding fundraising events to send teams to the National Scholastic Chess Tournaments. There will be a tournament at John Bapst April 1 with a chance to play in Blitz and/or Bughouse formats. Contact Ralph Townsend at RalphTownsend@umit.maine.edu, 989-1459, for information or register at John Bapst at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 1. The Airline School fundraiser will be on April 22. For information, contact Dan DeLuca at dcdeluca@yahoo.com, 479-4474.