Chess Maine

ChessMaine.net Championships set Saturday
BY COLIN HICKEY
Staff Writer

WATERVILLE — Edward Hatch played chess for the first time about 40 years ago, and his interest in the game has never waned.

“I just enjoy the competition,” the Palermo resident said, “and also the friendships. I have a competitive nature, but it is on the friendship level.”

Hatch, a member of the Waterville Chess Club, will be one of the 40 players expected to compete in the ChessMaine.net Championships on Saturday at Colby College.

The tournament, now in its third year, is only the third state-wide chess event this year.

Tournament Director Daniel DeLuca said such a small number of tournaments is an aberration given that the three previous years were record setting for the number of competitions offered.

DeLuca said Maine Chess Association President Philip Lowell, one of about eight to 10 certified tournament directors in the state, has not been as involved this year because of personal reasons.

That alone has had a significant impact on the number of tournaments on the calendar given the small pool of tournament directors, DeLuca said.

“I think that is really the issue,” he said, “‘not a lack of interest on the players part, but the lack of certified directors in Maine willing to host a tournament.”

DeLuca is one of the willing ones. He also is probably the state’s chief chess promoter thanks to the chessmaine.net Web site that he runs.

“This Dan DeLuca is doing a good job with his Web site,” Mark McPheters of the Waterville Chess Club said. “He is quite an organizer.”

DeLuca said Maine has a strong chess network.

The Maine Chess Association focuses primarily on adult tournaments, he said, while the Maine Association of Chess Coaches handles the scholastic end, including this year’s scholastic team championships, an event that attracted more than 300 players.

“It is the largest chess tournament in Maine,” DeLuca said.

Lee Doucette, membership chairman for the Maine Chess Association, said the 40 expected at the Waterville tournament qualifies as a strong turnout.

DeLuca said Maine has a healthy chess playing population on a per capita basis.

“In terms of our population it is excellent,” he said. “In terms of U.S. Chess Federation-rated players, we are in the top 10 in the nation.”

Hatch, pastor of Palermo Christian Church, said he finds the game relaxing, a nice diversion from every day life.

It’s a also a game, he said, that demands regular play to be competitive.

So Hatch hopes to get in a bit of training before moving his first chess piece Saturday.

“Chess has a number of different openings,” he said, “and sometimes I will brush up on a couple of those openings.”

Source: http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com