The 2012 Continental Amateur tournament originated in a proposal by MACA Education Coordinator and former President Stephen Dann, who had an idea for an Educational Expo to be held in conjunction with an amateur tournament at the Hyatt Harborside Hotel at Logan Airport in East Boston. He worked with New York organizer Bill Goichberg of the Continental Chess Association, who decided to run the Continental Amateur, a tournament that he’d held previously in other parts of the country, at the hotel on January 6-8, and provide a ballroom on the same fl oor for the Expo, which would be run by Mr. Dann on behalf of MACA. As several players said, the playing site was excellent, with a beautiful view of the Boston skyline across the harbor. 130 players entered the tournament, which was limited to players rated under 2250 and divided into five sections in a rather unusual fashion.

Three players tied for fi rst in Group 2, which was open to players rated from 1600 and 1949: Valentin Levin and Scott Didham, both from Massachusetts, and Srinivasan Ramanujam of New Jersey, all with 4 - 1 scores. Howard Kim, from Massachusetts, was clear fi rst in Group 3, open to players rated from 1200 to 1649, with 4½ - ½. There was another three-way tie in Group 4, open to players rated under 1350, between Phu Vo of Massachusetts, Elliott Taylor of New Jersey and Robert Sawdey of New Hampshire, all with 4 - 1. And Jamie Segee-Wright of New Hampshire won Group 5, open to players rated under 1050, with a perfect 5 - 0 score.