“TREMENDOUS” TURNOUT FOR NO SCHOOL FRIDAY CHESS TOURNAMENT
NORTHEAST HARBOR—Chess players turned out in droves to compete in MDI Chess’ No School Friday Chess Tournament on Saturday, March 14, at Northeast Harbor Library. Across the state, many students had that Friday off for a teacher professional development day. From Portland to Presque Isle and Auburn to Machias, students and adults came from every corner of the state.
“This was MDI Chess’ second library chess tournament this year,” Tournament Director Dan Monahan said. “Our first tournament drew 10 local chess players. At our No School Friday event, however, we had over 50 players spread out on two floors of the Northeast Harbor Library. It was a tremendous turnout.”
Unlike in other tournaments, players competed to win different chess books instead of trophies. Up for grabs were famous books such as Queen's Gambit star Beth Harman’s favorite, Modern Chess Openings by Nick de Firmian, as well as introductory books like How to Beat Your Dad at Chess by Murray Chandler and How to Win at Chess by Levy Rozman (a.k.a. Gotham Chess).
Participants also received chess medals.
“We received great feedback for having chess books instead of trophies for a change,” Monahan added. “Trophies are nice but books are something you can keep going back to and learning from. Plus, they go great with the theme of playing chess in libraries.”
In the most advanced Open section, Bar Harbor resident Ezra Sassaman and Tremont resident Tony Freudig tied for second place, each with two wins and a draw over four rounds, while MDI High School student Graeme Stone tied for fourth place with two wins.
In the Rated Under 1100 and Under 700 sections, players from Washington Academy and Machias Memorial High School took many of the top spots. However, in the Under 1100, Tremont resident Ben Freudig and Conners Emerson sixth grader Finn Monahan tied for fourth place with two wins a piece after four rounds. Participants played five rounds in the Rated Under 700 section, which had the highest number of players in the tournament. In that section, Trenton Elementary fifth grader Oren Nobel Brown and Conners Emerson sixth grader Delfina
Presa-Guzman tied for tenth place each with two wins and a draw while Conners-Emerson 7th grader Anthony Siemion and Hancock Grammar School seventh grader Lucian Anderson tied for thirteenth place.
After six rounds in the Rated Under 400 section, which was limited to Kindergarten through 5th grade players only, homeschooler Marin Alexander claimed first place with a perfect score of six wins and no losses followed by Conners Emerson second grader Daniel Chang in second place with five wins. Homeschooler Phoebe Alexander placed third with four wins and Conners Emerson second graders Sadie Monahan and Quinn Paine tied for fourth place with three wins each.
Finally, while most of the sections are US Chess Federation rated tournaments, five students competed in a non-rated section that does not require a US Chess Federation membership. After six rounds, Mount Desert Elementary fifth grader Theo Schwartz was victorious in all six games to take home the top prize. Conners Emerson elementary student Everett Wood placed second with 2.5 wins and Mount Desert Elementary student Mark Wood came in third with 1.5 wins.
For more information about scholastic chess visit www.ChessMaine.net or contact MDI Chess at MDIChess1@gmail.com.
MDI Chess is an informal association of chess coaches, players, and fans. Its mission is to foster chess education and opportunities on Mount Desert Island and around Hancock County, Maine.
All photos via MDI Chess Club and are from the event.