Congratulations to FM Daniel Barrish and WIM Jesse February, winners of the 2024 South African Closed Chess Championships hosted by the Cape Town Chess Federation at the Newlands Cricket Ground.
Both open and women’s tournaments were 12-player round robins with classical time control.
Fifth seed Daniel Barrish delivered an impressive performance, taking clear first in the open section, finishing a full point ahead of the runner-up FM Caleb Levitan. The champion scored 8/11 and became the only unbeaten player in the tournament. IM Jan Karsten netted 6.5/11 and won bronze.
Final standings open:
|
1 |
FM |
Barrish, Daniel |
2218 |
8 |
|
2 |
FM |
Levitan, Caleb |
2235 |
7 |
|
3 |
IM |
Karsten, Jan |
2323 |
6½ |
|
4 |
Mnyasta, Charlton |
2123 |
6 |
|
|
FM |
Mhango, Banele |
2193 |
6 |
|
|
6 |
IM |
Cawdery, Daniel |
2380 |
6 |
|
7 |
Mnguni, Jacob |
2134 |
6 |
|
|
8 |
IM |
Kobese, Watu |
2268 |
6 |
|
9 |
FM |
Klaasen, Calvin |
2155 |
5½ |
|
10 |
FM |
Simpson, Michael |
2093 |
4 |
|
11 |
Mfazwe, Lutho |
1956 |
2½ |
|
|
12 |
CM |
Khumalo, Keith |
2079 |
2½ |
Fresh from her triumph in the African Championship, Jesse February dominated the women’s competition, conceding her opponents just a half-point. WIM Charlize Van Zyl (9/11) and WFM Chloe Badenhorst (8/11) completed the podium.
Final standings women:
|
1 |
WIM |
February, Jesse |
1920 |
10½ |
|
2 |
WIM |
Van Zyl, Charlize |
1909 |
9 |
|
3 |
WFM |
Badenhorst, Chloe |
1917 |
8 |
|
4 |
Klaasen, Robyn |
1746 |
6½ |
|
|
5 |
Nel, Hayley |
1678 |
6 |
|
|
6 |
Strong, Davida |
1672 |
5½ |
|
|
7 |
Boshoma, Chisomo |
1780 |
5 |
|
|
8 |
Grobbelaar, Jacqui |
1726 |
4½ |
|
|
9 |
Rautenbach, Helen |
1586 |
3½ |
|
|
10 |
WIM |
Laubscher, Anzel |
1820 |
3 |
|
11 |
Joya, Imkhita |
1656 |
2½ |
|
|
12 |
Van Zyl, Bea |
1507 |
2 |
The senior section was jointly won by CM Dr Lyndon Bouah and FM Dr Shabier Bhawoodien, who could not be separated by tie-breaks.
Based on the competition results, the following players were selected to represent South Africa at the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary in September 2024:
OPEN:
FM Daniel Barrish
FM Caleb Levitan (13 years old)
IM Jan Karsten (15 years old)
Charlton Mnyasta (18 years old)
FM Banele Mhango
LADIES:
WIM Jesse February
WIM Charlize van Zyl
WFM Chloe Badenhorst (17 years old)
Robyn Klaasen
Hayley Nel (17 years old)
Photo: Flashlight Pictures
