The 2009 BATB took place this weekend, and once again it was a success. 16 players from Alberta and Saskatchewan participated in the 4-round event, and in the end top seed Andrew Boik finished first with a perfect 4/4. Roger Blum also had a great result with 3/4 - losing only to Boik and defeating Roy Yearwood in the last round - to finish in second place. The U1800 prize was split between Jon Drury and Mike Zeggelaar, who both had 2/4.

The big surprise revealed this year was the BATB trophy: a custom made giant grenade mounted atop a chess board with broken tiles and scattered pieces. It was a project that took over 6 months to complete, but I'm sure everyone will agree that the end result was worth the wait.

I have posted several documents from the tournament including the original grenade story, a photo essay on the making of the trophy, a crosstable, cost control reports, a prize fund breakdown and some puzzles taken from the first round.

The turnout at Boston Pizza after the second round was stellar as 14 out of the 16 players were in attendance, and a good time was had by all. As the night progressed, several blitz games erupted that drew the attention of the restaurant's staff and patrons. At one point the manager dropped by to ask a few questions about the event and wish us all good luck, and later a group of young girls gave one lucky player a phone number as they exited BP's. The recipient of said phone number happened to be recently married, so he passed it on to his good friend who was single. A phone call was made, but it ended abruptly when the player commented on the girl's weight in an effort to discern what she looked like. Although the verbal conversation ended there several text messages were exchanged, but they too took a turn for the worse after the term "gastropod" was used. The player and the girl never spoke again after that.

I'd appreciate if people could post some comments to this article with feedback on the tournament. I'm always looking for new ways to make the Battle better (the idea of a trophy was a suggestion from 2008, for example), and I need your help to do that. So, please take a moment to share your thoughts.

The player listed first has white.

Boik V Blum
Shanker V Sequillion
Chaisson V Timm
Van Der Kamp V Yearwood
Gluckie V Zeggelaar
Milne V Achtemichuk
Drury V Janzen, T
Janzen, R V Xiao

If you haven't registered for the 2009 Battle at the Border yet, you better do so quickly as time is running out!

UPDATE: The Battle will take place in room 1031A at Lakeland College.

UPDATE 2: If you are on the registration list and are unable to attend, please let me know before 9 AM tomorrow morning.

UPDATE: There are now 17 players pre-registered.

Advertising for the 2009 Battle at the Border is in full swing, and the response so far has been very encouraging. After only one day of sending emails, posting on newsgroups and issuing Facebook messages, 12 players have already signed up! This may not seem like much, but the event is still over a month away and chess players are notorious procrastinators!

Today I also made a reservation at Boston Pizza in Lloydminster so that everyone at the Battle can eat supper, have drinks, and socialize after the 2nd round. If you're unsure where to find us in BP's, just ask David :-)

Anyone who has attended previous Battles will recall that I always have a surprise to reveal, and this year will be no exception. Will it be triangle name tags? Personalized score books? More grenades? You'll have to wait and see...

If you are at all interested in playing in this tournament, please let me know as soon as possible. Space is limited to 32 players, and you can reserve your spot for free on our non-binding registration list by simply sending me an email.

Jamin Gluckie's second lecture was, as expected, a great way to spend a couple of hours on a Friday night. Attendees were treated to an informative and humourous presentation on opening preparation, driven by first-hand knowledge of its benefits and pitfalls.

Suffice it to say, if you were there, your rating automatically went up a few points. Thanks, Jamin, for all your hard work and (sometimes painful) personal insights.

In the next few days, I'll try to post some pictures of this momentous event in our Gallery, so stay tuned.