With the end of school approaching and the one day of warm, dry weather we just had, most of us seem to be thinking of other things besides chess. For instance, it appears that the only breathing mammal in Saskatoon who is eager for the Saskatchewan Open is Jason X.

(cue sound of crickets)

Sorry J. Unless there is a secret guerilla organizing committee (or a non-secret one, and I am really out of the loop--also a possibility) that is taking care of everything, you are out of luck. The Fall 2009/Spring 2010 tournament scene was a barren one indeed, so the non-occurrence of the Sask Open isn't all that shocking.

Instead of looking back at the last year, perhaps it's time to focus on the next twelve months. There were many positives from the past year to give us hope for a more eventful future. The youth movement was very noticeable. For instance, despite being without the dynamic duo of Me and MacKinnon, Team Sask did quite well at Scholastic Nationals. Josh Timm collected a third place medal in his grade, and other team members scored some shocking upsets along the way. There are many diamonds in the rough who would really improve given the right direction.

Another positive is the emergence of BatB, our outsourced tournament in Lloydminster. Because of Jamin's hard work and dedication, each year the event has grown, and we are all anticipating a really big show this year.

There is a lot of potential for chess in Saskatoon and area, but there are some pieces that have fallen off and need to be put back on the table. First and foremost, the club has been rudderless for the better part of a year. We need new blood to step forward and run the show. We need people who are willing and able to take part in the executive and organize events. For the most part, they don't need to know the nuances of the Slav Defense - they need to know how to get stuff done.

The second missing piece is a venue. With all the construction happening on campus, finding an empty classroom is getting harder and harder. Can anyone find us a good (clean, quiet, well-lit, inexpensive) place to hold tournaments and lectures?

Hmmm. Those are probably the two really big pieces. There are no doubt several few smaller ones as well, but people and venue would go a long way to getting us back on track.

You may have read a comment I posted a few days ago about Monday nights at Brunskill. I have agreed to stay on for another year to run the "chess thing" (if you've seen Searching for Bobby Fischer, you should recognize the reference) at Brunskill School on Mondays (6 to 9 pm) starting in September. My goals are to make it as cheap as possible, to attract as many players young and old as possible, and for the most part just step back and let people play chess. For bonus points, I am hoping that the Scholastic group that appeared just after Provincials will be able to make it. They were a fine bunch of kids who were anxious to cram in as much chess knowledge in them before they headed off to Nationals - if they had started their preparation a few months earlier, I am sure they would have done even better.