SemiFinal Standings

The two Semi-Final Winners, Benjamin and Christiansen, will play each other in the Finals to determine the 1997 Champion.

Standings/Results

USCF ratings are shown as of August 1997.

Final Crosstables for SemiFinals


     Player                 1   2   3   4   Total

1 GM Gregory Kaidanov       0   =   0   n/a   0.5

2690, KY, 37, FIDE 2600

2 GM Joel Benjamin          1   =   1   n/a   2.5 - Benjamin advances to Finals

2659, NY, 33, FIDE 2580 





     Player                 1   2   3   4   Total



1 GM Larry Christiansen     0   =   1   =     2.0 - Advances to Finals after playoff

2632, CA, 41, FIDE 2550

7 GM Yasser Seirawan        1   =   0   =     2.0

2689, WA, 37, FIDE 2630

Last Round's Results

Benjamin-Kaidanov 1-0; Seirawan-Christiansen 0-1. Benjamin advances to Finals. Christiansen-Seirawan was a draw on Saturday: the two then began a series of 2-game quick games to determine who would advance. The first set, G/25, was split when each player won with White. The second set, G/15, was also split when Seirawan missed drawing chances in the second game. Now began a series of G/5 (game in 5 minutes per side!) blitz matches in which fatigue and stress took its toll on both players. Many mistakes were made. The first set was again split. The second set was split. GM Christiansen suggested adjourning and completing the play-off in the morning, but GM Seirwan preferred to continue and get a decisive result that night. Gm Christiansen won the first game of the third G/5 set. In the second game, both players made errors, but GM Christiansen ended up winning, and he will continue on to the finals. The Saturday session ended up requiring 12 hours and 11 games to determine a victor!

The first game of the Finals will be Sunday at 3:30 PM (GMT-7, Phoenix) local time.

See the SemiFinals Games section for round by round reports.