ORONO – Ninety-six players competed in the Maine Scholastic Individual Championship on March 29 at the University of Maine.

Regarded as the elite scholastic tournament of the year, the individual competition decided state champions in five sections.

Orono High School student Germaine Kickert won the High School Championship section with a perfect 4.0 points in as many rounds.

Plowing through her competition – Keji Xu, Matthew Colson, Aaron Spencer and finally Fritz Eyerer – Kickert became the first female player to capture the Maine High School Individual Championship since Emily Giambalvo of Hampden Academy in 1988.

A cluster of six players all scoring 3.0 points trailed Kickert and tied for second place: Eyerer, John Bapst Memorial High School; Lucas McCain, Yarmouth Academy; Spencer, John Bapst; Alba Briggs IV, Maranatha Home School Fellowship, Lubec; Margaret Bryan, John Bapst; and Andrew Audibert, Bangor High School.

Ryan Vienneau of Orono High scored 3.5 points and took first in the High School Reserve section for those rated under 1,200 in the U.S. Chess Federation.

Vienneau began with a draw against Ben Morgan of Westbrook High School, then won three in a row from Omar Khan of John Bapst; Eyerer; and Nikolai Renedo of Orono High School. Renedo tied for second, scoring 3.0 points along with Ben Morgan, Andrew Seavey and Samuel Touchett.

Besides Kickert, the only other player to go unbeaten and untied through four rounds was Cape Elizabeth’s Ethan DiNinno, who won the junior high school section. Ranked 14th of the 21 players in his section and with a USCF rating of 575, DiNinno surprised the field with his strong, consistent chess.

Former kindergarten-grade six Individual State Champion Gianluca Pane scored 3.5 points to take clear second, and four players tied for third with 3.0 points: Paul Rudnicki, Colson, Matthew Fishbein and Jiawei Zou.

A three-way tie for first in the kindergarten-grade six section delighted spectators with many edge-of-the-seat games.

Andrew Turner, Deer Isle-Stonington; Wesley Parker, Cape Elizabeth; and Zachary Hamilton, Glenburn, all scored 3.5 points to share the title. This leading group was followed by three players with 3.0 points: Matthew Reale-Hatem, Cape Elizabeth; Haley DeLuca Lowell, Airline School; and John Kenneway, Old Town.

The kindergarten-grade three section was won by Bethany Humphrey of Deer Isle-Stonington with 3.5 points. Tied for second with 3.0 points were George Payne and Eli Spahn, Palermo.

Alongside the scholastic tournaments, the fourth annual Sidekick Quads to raise money for Maine Scholastic Chess were contested.

In Quad 1 a three-way tie for first ensued among Roger Morin, Tom Sandford and Ben Johnson. Quad 2 saw a clear winner in Daniel Fishbein, and Steven Giangiordano won Quad 3.

The individual scholastic tournaments were directed by Lee Doucette and Philip Lowell and organized by Kathy Richards with overall coordinator Ron Lewis. The Sidekick Quads were organized and directed by Alba Briggs. Special thanks go to the Maine Association of Chess Coaches, the University of Maine, coaches, parents and players.

More details and pictures of the events can be seen on the award-winning Chess Maine Web page at http://chessmaine.net.