2010 Mark Hayden Fineman Chess Tournament results from Harwich Elementary School

Lower Cape students in K through 8 go head to head

The 2010 Mark Hayden Fineman Memorial Chess Tournament was held on March 6 at the Harwich Elementary School. The annual event awards prizes totaling $1,900 to pre-high school students in the towns of Brewster, Chatham, Eastham, Harwich, Orleans, and Wellfleet. The fund was established in 1985 by Dr. Abraham Fineman of S. Wellfleet and is administered by the Boston Foundation. Thirty-one players competed in three sections in this year’s event.

Eight players contested the K-2nd grade section. Trevor Russell of Harwich went undefeated in a four-round Swiss-system tournament to capture the first place prize of $200. Kindergartner Fielding DeWitt of Harwich won the second prize of $100 with a score of 3-0, making him one of the youngest prize winners in the history of the tournament. Fellow kindergartner Jacob Rabold of Brewster placed third and delighted the directors and photographer with the pure joy of play that was evident on his face during the competition. If it had not been for a stalemate from a superior position in the second round, Mia Caldwell of Harwich would have tied for third place.

Nine players competed in the 3rd-5th grade section. The five-round Swiss tournament was a closely contested affair won by James Kiernan of Harwich, who captured the top prize of $500 with a score of 4.5 points. The second place prize of $300 was awarded to Jacob Awalt of Harwich just a half-point behind Kiernan. Alexis Roma, Caleb Caldwell, and Ben Slater, all from Harwich, tied for third place. Until round three both Slater and Roma were undefeated; however, Roma won their individual encounter placing her in sole first place. Roma then lost to Kiernan in round four, and he solidified his tournament victory with a win against Caldwell in the fifth round. Meanwhile, in the fifth round, Roma and Awalt were vying for undisputed second place, where the latter emerged victorious.

The 6th-8th grade section saw one of its largest turnouts in recent years with fourteen players competing in a five-round Swiss tournament. Joshua Ford of Harwich swept the field in the first four rounds, only to lose in the last round, causing a three-way tie for first place between Ford, Miles Tibbetts of Wellfleet, and Ben Johnson-Staub of Orleans. During the playoff round-robin each player scored one point to again result in a three-way tie for first. In the second round-robin playoff, Tibbetts lost to both Ford and Johnson-Staub, leaving the ninth and final game of the day to decide the tournament. Johnson-Staub won the $500 first prize and Ford the second place prize of $300. Tibbetts was awarded a tournament set, board, and tote donated by ChessCafe.com.

Ben Slater and Fielding DeWitt of Harwich both won raffle prizes, while chess set prizes, complements of ChessCafe.com, were awarded to all participants who did not win a cash prize. The tournament was directed by Mark Donlan and Mike McCarthy.

Release courtesy of ChessCafe.com.