Titans prepare to clash at chess championship
Kings will fall in the Queen City this weekend.
Regina is set to play host to the Saskatchewan Chess Championship — the second iteration of the tournament, since it was revived last year.
It is to be held at the Quality Hotel on Victoria Avenue, and was scheduled to kick off Friday and carry on throughout the weekend.
Somewhere between 60 and 70 competitors are expected to attend — many Canucks and even a few Americans, according to Queen City Chess Club president Tom Boshoff.
“We’ve got kids who are just learning to play the game entering some of the lower sections, and then we’ve got absolute chess masters at the top,” he said.
And at the top, the tournament could prove to be a clash of provincial titans. Winnipeg’s Isaac Wiebe — who tied for first place in the tournament last year — is returning with his eyes on a “master” title, according to Boshoff.
“He’s pretty close to getting it, but the competition is a little steeper this year,” the club president said.
Saskatchewan’s own Robert Sasata is expected to make the trip down from Saskatoon, and may prove a significant hurdle for the prospective champ, according to Boshoff.
The public is invited to watch the action and socialize between matches. However, the chatter will be corralled in a space away from the playing area known as the “skittles room” — an insider chess term, Boshoff explained with a chuckle.
“The playing room itself is dead quiet.”
The stakes are high in the “open section,” where $2,000 is to be awarded to the first-place finisher.
For those wanting to test their mettle when less is on the line, the Queen City Chess Club meets at 7 p.m. on Thursday evenings at the University of Regina’s Ridell Centre.