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1997 Saskatchewan Closed

The 1997 Provincial Championship was decided at the University of Saskatchewan campus from May 23-25 and once again proved to be a hotly contested affair between the perennial favorites and an ambitious crop of newcomers.

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1997 Saskatchewan Closed Chess Championship
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Player           Rating  1 2 3 4 5 6  Total
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1 Neven,Knut      2223   x = 1 1 1 1   4.5
2 Sasata,Robert   2323   = x = 1 1 1   4.0
3 Knapper,Brian   1955   0 = x = 1 1   3.0
4 Kowalczyk,Tony  1975   0 0 = x = 1   2.0
5 McIntyre,John   1900   0 0 0 = x 1   1.5
6 Dimnik,Pavel    1715   0 0 0 0 0 x   0.0
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Player Profiles

Pavel Dimnik

Things certainly could have gone differently for young Pavel, whose resourceful defensive play set difficult problems for all of his opponents. My prediction is for Pavel to be back next year with a near-Expert rating and a much better result on the crosstable.

John McIntyre

Without a doubt John a.k.a. "Houdini" is the most original of the players. His ultra-aggressive style often finds him positionally bankrupt, but somehow always with enough pieces in the vicinity of his opponent's King to cause unexpected mischi ef!

Tony Kowalczyk

This was Tony's fifth appearance in the Provincial Championships, and he was once again a tough competitor. His achilles heel seems to be the endgame where a more patient approach might net him another point or two. Well done.

Brian Knapper

Brian has improved dramatically in the past year and put in an excellent rookie performance in this year's championship. His play is characterized by a strong desire to search for the initiative ...

Robert Sasata

Once again the pre-tournament favorite, Robert was held to a draw by Brian in the penultimate round, which proved to be the decisive game of the tournament. As always, Robert's preparation was thorough and his play too much to handle for his opposition!

Knut Neven

Somewhat rusty after a 7-month layoff, Knut was able to take full advantage of the opportunities that came his way while sticking to his patented positional approach to the game. Robert pushed hard in the final round game between the two leaders, but correct play by both players led to a level ending after some interesting tactical fireworks.

The final round encounter between Robert and Knut is this month's "Game of the Month". Take a look!