The tournament held near the cloister at Ter Apel, The Netherlands (near the German border) was organized for the last time in 1997. The first event had been held in 1966 during the 500 year anniversary of the cloister. The next tournament was held 21 years later in 1987 to celebrate the 50th Jubilee of the Ter Apel chess club. Three years after that in 1990 a third tournament was held to celebrate the unification of Europe after the Cold War. From there the tournament became an annual event. For this last edition of the tournament, six grandmasters were invited to participate in the round robin format. The players were (in order of ELO): Alexei Shirov (2690), Artur Yusupov (2665), Ulf Andersson (2655), Alexander Khalifman (2650), Loek Van Wely (2645), and Robert Huebner (2600). In spite of the financial troubles which forced the end of the annual event with this tournament, each edition was memorable for the history and celebration displayed. This final edition was an important win for Shirov as he dominated over a handful of his active contemporaries. The final standings and crosstable are as follows:

1 Shirov 4/5 * = = 1 1 1

2 Khalifman 3.5/5 = * = = 1 1

3 Andersson 3/5 = = * = = 1

4 Yusupov 2.5/5 0 = = * 1 =

5 Van Wely 1.5/5 0 0 = 0 * 1

6 Huebner 0.5/5 0 0 0 = 0 *