The excitement was clearly visible as 300 K-12 players battled over the boards for the State Chess Championships this Saturday, March 10, at The University of Maine at Orono. And when the dust settled, Cape Elizabeth had captured the State K-6 Championship in Chess! This is believed to be Cape Elizabeth’s first ever state title in chess.

The Elementary K-6 title has long been one of the most hotly contested and this year was no exception. After round three, chess powerhouse Deer Isle-Stonington and Cape Elizabeth were neck-and-neck. In years past, DI-S had more than once edged out Cape by as little as half a point – for the team title. By reputation, chess-mad Deer Isle has a K-12 team of 85, paid coaches, a chess theme in their cafeteria and boards in the halls for play between classes. So it was with no small feat that Cape teammates eagerly awaited the results of round four.

Incredibly, at the conclusion of the very last round-four game, Cape and Deer Isle had identical 16.0 scores, meaning both schools will share the title as co-champions. However, on performance-based tiebreaks, the first place trophy was awarded to Cape Elizabeth. Deer Isle-Stonington had won eight consecutive state titles, and teams from eastern Maine dominate all sections, so having a

southern Maine town as the victor is obviously significant.

The Cape Elizabeth team was led by top scorers Matthew Fishbein (3rd grade), who at 4.0 was one of only two players in the tournament to achieve a perfect score, and Danny Brett (5th grade), Brett Parker (6th grade), newcomer Wes Parker (2nd grade) and Alex Silva (6th grade), who each won three games. Other team members whose contributions were also critical were Jack Demeter, Ethan Duperre, Will Kriger, Matthew Reale-Hatem, Nicholas Shedd, Colin Smith and Leo Wing.

Cape Elizabeth also fielded a strong junior high team for the first time in several years, and made an excellent showing, coming in 4th in the state. The team consisted of Shannon Daly and Peter Campbell who have nurtured the K-6 team for years, as well as Anthony Freccero, Ethan DiNinno and Brian Brett, who celebrated his birthday with his teammates at the tournament.

Dan Shedd also gave Cape its first presence in recent years in the High School tournament, scoring an impressive three wins in the Novice section, in his first tournament.

The Cape Elizabeth teams practice as part of the Coastal Maine Scholastic Chess Club, which meets from 9 to 11 a.m. most Saturday mornings at Cape Elizabeth Community Services. The new club, open to all K-12 students including those from nearby towns, was formed this year by Cape parents interested in fostering youth chess in Southern Maine. With the support of Cape Elizabeth

Community services, the club has been instrumental in advancing the Cape scholastic teams to championship level. Parents of K-12 students interested in learning more about the club, should visit www.cmschess.netfirms.com for further information or call Ilene at

741-2568.

Lower level (left to right): Leo Wing, Wes Parker, Colin Smith, Shannon Daly, Alex Silva, Brett Parker, Peter Campbell, Matthew Fishbein, Danny Brett, and Nicholas Shedd.

Middle and upper levels: Anthony Freccero, Ethan DuPerre, Dan Shedd, Ethan DiNinno, Will Kriger, Brian Brett, coach Peter Daly, Jack Demeter, and coach Dan Fishbein.

Absent from the photo is Matthew Reale-Hatem.

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