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.