By Ilene Schuchman

Special Contributor

    “Excuse me,” piped up a small voice.

    “What’s the matter, Wes,” asked parent volunteer Dan
Fishbein, of Cape Elizabeth’s youngest and smallest competitor, second
grader Wes Parker, competing in his first chess tournament, “do you
need help finding your table?”

    “I won,” Wes answered in a small voice. As Fishbein
glanced over at the rest of the room, where some of the other K-6
competitors were still searching for their pairing and table, it
occurred to him that this was a good sign.

    The excitement was palpable as 300 K-12 players
battled over the boards for the State Chess Championships last Saturday
at The University of Maine at Orono. When the dust settled, Cape
Elizabeth had captured the State K-6 Championship in chess, 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.
This year was no exception. After round three, chess powerhouse Deer
Isle-Stonington and Cape Elizabeth were neck-and-neck. But wait- hadn’t
they been there before?  They had – and again and again and again.
In years past, DIS had more than once edged out Cape E. by as little as
half a point – for the entire team. By reputation, chess-mad Deer Isle
has combined K-12 teams 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 excitement 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, so 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
has won eight consecutive state titles, and teams from eastern Maine
dominate all sections, so having a southern Maine town as the victor
was even more significant.

    The Cape Elizabeth team was led by top scorers
Matthew Fishbein (third grade), who at 4.0 was one of only two players
in the tournament to achieve a perfect score, and Danny Brett (fifth
grade), Brett Parker (sixth grade), Wes Parker and Alex Silva (sixth
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 fourth in the state. The team consisted of Shannon
Daly and Peter Campbell, who have nurtured the K-6 team for years,
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 check out
www.cmschess.netfirms.com for further information or call Ilene at
741-2568.