University of Maine chess tournament draws 300 youths

ORONO – Three hundred youngsters from all parts of the state came to the University of Maine on Saturday for the Maine Scholastic Team Chess Championships in several categories. Hard-fought, close battles and team camaraderie were the order of the day.

In the championship division, titles were won by John Bapst Memorial High School, high school level; Orono and Deer Isle-Stonington, co-champions for junior high; Airline Community School, K-3; and K-Deer Isle-Stonington and Cape Elizabeth, co-champions for K-6.

Fourteen high school teams of five players faced each other in match play on the championship level. The final round saw old rivals John Bapst and Deer Isle-Stonington face each other for the state team title.

In a match that went down to the wire with flags hanging and about to fall, John Bapst proved victorious to reclaim the high school crown. Deer Isle-Stonington and Bangor tied for second, with the second-place trophy going to Deer Isle-Stonington on tie-breaks.

Winning team members from John Bapst were Fritz Eyerer, Murray Bridges, Zachary LaPierre, Frank Kessler and Zachary Smith. Deer Isle-Stonington team members were Bryan Ciomei, Shane Eaton, Collin Ciomei, Jon Eaton and Goldie Garcia. Bangor team members were Eugene Abramov, Andrew Giebfried, Henry Chai, Andrew Audibert and Scott Dennis. Top Girl award went to Kaitlyn Haas of Hampden Academy. Invited back to play in the individual championships on March 24 with no entry fee were: Brandon Greaton, Thornton Academy; David Chandpen, Cheverus High School; Cullen Edes, Orono; Henry Chai, Andrew Audibert and Scott Dennis of Bangor High; Shane Eaton, Collin Ciomei and Jon Eaton of Deer Isle-Stonington; and Fritz Eyerer and Zachary Smith of John Bapst.

In the elementary section, team titles were up for grabs in the K-6 and K-3. The championship K-6 section produced co-champion state elementary teams in Deer Isle-Stonington and Cape Elizabeth.

Tie-breaks were used to determine which team received the first-place trophies, and on the narrowest of margins, these went to Cape Elizabeth. Top scorers for Deer Isle-Stonington were Sam Grindle, Hayden Ciomei, Connor Morey, Eric Babbit, Lucas Oliver and Tyler Bartlett. Top scorers for Cape Elizabeth were Matthew Fishbein, Brett Parker, Daniel Brett, Alex Silva, and Wesley Parker.

Top unrated player honors went to Isaiah Fallon of Mount Desert Island, with a score of 3 out of 4. Top girl honors went to Haley DeLuca Lowell, Airline School, with a score of 3.5 out of 4. Invited back to play free in the individual championships by scoring 3 or more points were all the top scorers for each of the two co-championship teams, plus Haley DeLuca Lowell, Ezra Briggs, Maranatha; Nathan Dee, All Saints, Bangor; and Isaiah Fallon, MDI.

In the K-3 section, the Airline Community School took top honors over the team from Deer Isle-Stonington. Top scorers for the winning team were Laddy DeLuca Lowell, Max DeLuca Lowell and Isiah Massey. Top scorers for Deer Isle-Stonington were Ethan Shepard, Soo Zin Cha and Cameron Wendell.

Top girl honors went to Laddy DeLuca Lowell. Invited back for excellent performance in this section were: Laddy DeLuca Lowell, Max DeLuca Lowell, and Isiah Massey of Airline; and Ethan Shepard and Soo Zin Cha of Deer Isle-Stonington.

In the elementary novice section, the winner was Stillwater Montessori School over Drinkwater Elementary, Northport. Winning team members were Devon Goodale, Conor Millard, John Kenneway, Isaac Robinson, Reid Horton and Harrison Dieuveuil. Members of the Drinkwater School were Caelyn Crosby, Logan Parker, Taran Evans-Moran, Alex Johnson, and Leo Richter. Top individual player honors went to Reid Horton, Stillwater.

In the junior high section, two divisions were contested, championship and novice. In the championship section, Orono and Deer Isle-Stonington were deadlocked and declared co-champions. On tie-breaks, the first-place trophies went to Deer Isle-Stonington.

Top scorers for Deer Isle-Stonington were Ian Pelletier, Andrew Babbit, Jacob Starkey, Gareth Warr and Janelle Ciomei. Top scorers for Orono were Avery Cole, Nick Peterson, Jiawei Zou, Yuval Boss and Paul Robinson. Invited back for the individuals with entry fee waived were: Avery Cole, Nick Peterson, Jiawei Zou and Yuval Boss of Orono; Ian Pelletier, Andrew Babbit, Jacob Starkey and Gareth Warr of Deer Isle-Stonington; Margaret Bryan of Airline; Robert Freccero of Cape Elizabeth; and Liam Mullen of Bristol. Top Girl Award went to Margaret Bryan of Airline. Top unrated went to Branden Eugly of Bristol.

In the junior high novice section, Bucksport prevailed over Troy Howard Middle School from Belfast. Members of the winning team were Chad Atherton, Dustin Hartman, Casey Ginn, Adrian Appleby and Austin Sargent. Top individual performance went to Chad Atherton.

In the high school reserve section, Orono and Maranatha of Lubec were co-champions with 10 points each. Top scorers for the Orono team were Sorel Edes, Mike Zhang, Emmet Harrity and Nigel Kass. Top scorers for Maranatha were Lily Briggs, Hoty Briggs and Nathaniel Simpson.

Top girl award went to Lily Briggs of Maranatha. Top unrated went to Mike Bowser of Cheverus High School. Invited back to individuals were Lily Briggs and Hoty Briggs of Maranatha, Mike Zhang and Sorel Edes of Orono and Mike Bowser of Cheverus.

In the high school novice section, Dexter High School took first and DIS second. Top scorers for Dexter were Lucas Jewett, David Wilkes and Joshua Shuman. For Deer Isle-Stonington, top scorers were Ethan Brown, Jake Schmidt and Jesse Aubert. The top individual performance award went to Lucas Jewett.

This tournament is the largest event of the year and depends on the efforts of many dedicated volunteers. Tournament leaders included George Wilmot for elementary, Kurt Klappenbach for junior high and Fred Irons for high school.

Tournament directors were Philip Lowell, Steve Wong, Alba Briggs and Tom Sandford. Ably assisting were Kathy Richards, treasurer for the Maine State Association of Chess Coaches; Bob Solinger, coordinator for trophies and awards, and a cast of supporting coaches and assistants. Thanks go to the University of Maine for their continued support and financial aid.

The state individual chess crowns will be determined on March 24 at the University of Maine Memorial Union. The event is open to all Maine K-12 pupils. For more information, visit www.ChessMaine.net.